Le Chef

Stern and stubborn Alexandre Lagarde (Jean Reno) is a venerable celebrity chef who may lose control of his Paris restaurant Cargo Lagarde because the new CEO/owner Stanislas Matter (Julien Boisselier) thinks Lagarde's traditional haute-cuisine is old-toque, despite his having earned the eatery a three-star Michelin rating. The ruthless Matter insists that Lagarde use cheaper, chemical-laden ingredients, and he's also considering hiring a young, trendy Spanish chef who specializes in the latest craze of molecular gastronomy. Then Lagarde discovers Jacky Bonnot (Michaël Youn), a self-taught, aspiring cook whose rebellious, domineering personality gets him fired from job after job. Propelled by his pregnant girlfriend (Raphaëlle Agogué), Jacky works as a handyman/painter at a retirement home where he also creates innovative meals for the elderly residents. An instinctive culinary genius, Jacky is fearlessly original and Lagarde is desperate, but can they work together? While the cast is sterling, writer-director Daniel Cohen's Le Chef is also a formulaically scripted, far-fetched odd-couple farce featuring some disconcerting racial/ethnic stereotypes. A mildly amusing aperitif, this is an optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Two Chefs” featurette (25 min.), cast and crew interviews (8 min.), deleted scenes (4 min.), a blooper reel (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (S. Granger)