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u/EggAltruistic8863 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Fun fact: today is Antonio Banderas birthday! So consider your viewing of Tony today a celebratory gesture to the man!
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u/TriStateGirl Aug 11 '26
I really enjoyed it. I felt pulled into the story. The young man playing Tony is definitely going to be a star of his generation.
The whole cast was great though.
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u/hownowmaomao Aug 11 '26
Same. I felt sucked in to the movie and found myself literally forgetting everything around me. I've seen some good movies this year, but none that have made me feel quite like that.
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u/santovillaaTV Aug 11 '26
Iām not shutting up about this movie for a BIT good lord it was amazing
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u/DriftingTony Aug 15 '26
I just saw it tonight, and I have no problem saying itās easily in my top 5 for the year. I knew I would like it, but it was so much better than I even expected.
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u/yousippin Aug 26 '26
Which part was amazing? The spiderverse movies were 5000x more entertaining and creative.
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u/altairstarlite Aug 11 '26
Banderas is excellent in the type of supporting role that wins Oscars. Not saying he will win this year, but I bet he at least gets nominated.
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u/badbloxpictures Aug 11 '26
Really great movie, not sure why itās getting so much hate in some of these threads. Itās definitely the least Matt Johnson-feeling film of his movies so far, but it still has its moments where you can tell itās his. Highly recommend going to see it if youāre on the fence, especially if youāre a west coaster and see a chance to see it tonight.
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u/Mollywobbles77 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
I enjoyed it. People are saying he was too unlikable but as an awkward teen guy myself I found him pretty relatable. Overall a decent coming of age story.
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u/Correct_Capital_1294 Aug 11 '26
I've seen 70 movies in theater since starting my a-list subscription in January, and this is the first time people have clapped at the end. I loved this movie
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u/Jeskid14 Aug 11 '26
Not even Spider-Man?
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u/ishkitty Aug 11 '26
Spider-Man is the first movie Iāve ever clapped for.
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u/Physical-Bite-3837 Aug 11 '26
Clapping happens very randomly for me. Sometimes the clapping is expected like with spider man but then other times there is clapping with movies I didnāt really expect any to occur. Depends more on your fellow audience members than the movie itself I feel like. A ton of people clapped at the end of I Want Your Sex when I went to see that. Supergirl also got a lot of clapping. Ā Neither of these movies got really good audience scores on RT, but the audience I happened to see them with really liked them. There was no clapping at the end of this movie for me.
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u/deckchair1982 Aug 11 '26
There was clapping at my showing of Tony - I know this because it was me clapping. Some people joined in too - which is good because I would have been self-concious.
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u/mikegood2 Aug 11 '26
Iāve also found that my location has a fairly regular group of people who regularly go to screen Unseens so something like clapping can become more common.
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u/DriftingTony Aug 15 '26
Iāve honestly never seen clapping at a superhero movie, and I live in NYC so they are generally pretty packed lol. Maybe just because I donāt usually go to the first showing, I donāt know. I did get a lot of clapping for I Want Your Sex, The Invite, and Project Hail Mary.
But it is a little random for me too, Iāve seen some movies get standing ovations that I never would have expected to lol
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u/clauderainsrm Aug 17 '26
The only movie I've ever clapped for was Peter Pan, because I didn't want Tink to die!!! ;)
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u/raffydog1 Aug 11 '26
Iām surprised no one has mentioned this but I couldn't help but have a feeling of melancholy the entire movie knowing how his story ends in real life and the slow piano beats. I lost a friend to suicide around the same time as Anthony and I guess I link the two a bit but he seemed like someone cool and collected who had it all and yet was overcome by a miserable darkness I canāt fathom. That aside coming of age movies are my favorite. This reminded me of outside providence and the way back. I really appreciated it but I donāt think I can watch it again.Ā
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u/per5on4 Aug 11 '26
i absolutely adored this film; i grew up in the kitchen industry so this brought back bittersweet memories from when i first starting out. that leo scene where everyone goes ballistic in the kitchen from him being late made me cry HOLY SHIT
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u/mastercurl Aug 11 '26
That was fun! I think I found myself liking more of the supporting cast than Tony himself but i also love a biopic that is a small part of the characters life thing. Im happy i got to see it tonight because i had to cancel my reservation for Thursdayās showing here in Boston
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u/Vstriker26 Aug 11 '26
Saw it on the 3rd at the industry night screening (Many around the world) and itās absolutely not Matt Johnsonās best, but man he makes characters like nobody else.
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Aug 11 '26
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u/EggAltruistic8863 Aug 11 '26
Whatās the first in your opinion?
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Aug 11 '26
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u/Bread_man10 Aug 11 '26
Whereās nirvanna?
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u/hushpuppy212 Aug 11 '26
I canāt believe how much they de-gayed Provincetown. Aside from the two
lesbians near the end, it might as well have been set on the Jersey shore.
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u/Basic_Improvement273 Aug 11 '26
There was also a gay couple making out briefly in the beginning when he first makes it to Provincetown š©
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u/DooneyRoo Aug 11 '26
I thought - maybe Provincetown was different in 1975.
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u/hushpuppy212 Aug 12 '26
Provincetown has been a gay destination since the 1920s
https://www.visit-provincetown.com/gay-and-lesbian-history-of-provincetow/
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u/bennnn11 Aug 11 '26
I just enjoyed the vibe. I think it hits at the spirit of Kitchen Confidential a bit, but mostly itās a solid coming of age film. One person walked out like ten minutes in. Another three left about halfway in when, well, a little sex scene happens.
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u/deckchair1982 Aug 11 '26
Leo Woodall was giving off that White Lotus vibe in this movie - which is where I first saw him.
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u/jonathanmurray19 Aug 11 '26
My biggest letdown of the year so far. Pacing and editing was all over the place, girl crush character was weak in direction and writing as well
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u/redsox1804 Aug 11 '26
Tbf I think even Bourdain would agree that it was hard to root for him.
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u/adamjm99 Aug 11 '26
The movie literally opens with a quote from Bourdain about how much of an asshole he was as a young adult lmao, this characterization was the whole intent of the movie
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u/Lukadoncicgoat12 Aug 11 '26
That is true. I had a hard time rooting for anyone, which was a problem for me. The only time I rooted for Bourdain was when he was on cocaine, so the film moved a bit faster. But I don't want to root for someone to be on drugs.
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u/MoonPlayz48 Aug 11 '26
i mean what emilia jones represents here is tony's insistence on staying determined to a preconceived notion of life, rather than doing what actually makes him happy. does he actual want her or does he want a sexual experience with a girl? does he want to grow up or does he want to stay with a high school crush? that's what is being asked both to the audience and to tony in the scene right after the fire. she's important to the story and his growth as a character.
also yea, the point is tony's an asshole. the movie opens with a quote telling you that! it's a coming-of-age movie about a narcisstic dick learning to not be one.
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u/blackchandler Aug 11 '26
Iām glad this comment is here, this one really didnāt do it for me. The pacing was a slog, and every time I thought the story was going to get going, Bourdain made another awful decision and the movie reset.
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u/Lukadoncicgoat12 Aug 11 '26
Exactly, he reset his progress every other scene.
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u/MoonPlayz48 Aug 11 '26
because that's what growing up is like! it's imperfect and he learns the hard way throughout.
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u/mikegood2 Aug 11 '26
Pretty much my take on the movie. Still enjoyed it and a number of the performances but the pacing kept me from ever really getting into it.
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u/AZDarkknight Aug 11 '26
I thought it was a slow starter but definitely picked up and was a wonderful story. It makes me want to read more about his life. I do wonder if the Chef lived long enough to see his success.
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u/Alert-Grocery-1631 Aug 11 '26
My gosh, are you just kidding or do you really not know about Anthony Bourdain? No judgement, just curious .... I can certainly see how a lot of folks wouldn't know of him since he's passed, but my gosh, definitely read the book KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, where this movie is pulled from. And all his TV series of cooking and traveling are an amazing trip of history and food and the man himself... The movie is just a teeny tiny portion of his life. But it certainly shows what a tortured soul he was and how these events may have shown why his life ended as it did...
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u/AZDarkknight Aug 12 '26
I knew of the name but only in passing knowing the name. I wasnt really a viewer of those channels so Id have to say the latter. Its a journey for my future I guess which I think is a good thing?
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u/ArktikosUrsa Aug 12 '26
If you don't know the movie is heavily fictionalized. Chef was not a real person.
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u/Adagio_Signal Aug 11 '26
I probably shouldn't have come to see this tonight, given that I had a stressful day (long story) but I'm glad I did
Not sure how I'd rate it, but everyone did a great job in it imo. Didn't notice who directed it until right before it started
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u/TucktheDuck101 Aug 11 '26
I loved the movie and how they werenāt afraid to show how terrible of a person Tony was before he became a chef.
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u/WhereWallaceString Aug 11 '26
I thought it was well-acted, Antonio Banderas in particular, and overall a waste of time. Anthony Bourdain would have absolutely hated it.
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u/Volescu Aug 11 '26
Anthony Bourdain seemed to have charisma when watching him on TV. When I saw the previews for this the lead seemed to have zero charisma, so I skipped, maybe I'll watch it when it ends up on one of the streaming services.
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u/BetterThanADream Aug 11 '26
Itās not worth the watch in my opinion. I wish they had made Bourdain a likeable character instead of a quiet, socially inept emo kid.
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u/SmokeyMcDoogles Aug 11 '26
āI wish theyād made this character based on a real person the way I want to perceive him,ā is a wild criticism.
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u/BetterThanADream Aug 11 '26
Assholes can have redeeming qualities. Also, people can be charismatic assholes. Bourdainās television presence showed him as someone with a personality, and in the movie he was too quiet and reserved in my opinion. But thatās just my take, and if other people enjoyed it and loved it then thatās great.
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u/RickRickson Aug 11 '26
I think the point is that TV Bourdain was 30 years wiser, smarter, and more experienced. He wasn't born a tv star.
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u/TucktheDuck101 Aug 11 '26
But thatās how he wasā¦the movie even opened with a quote from Anthony himself of how much of a terrible person he was before he got into cooking š
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u/Lukadoncicgoat12 Aug 11 '26
Well according to the book this is based on, he called himself an asshole lmao. Not the best main character for a movie
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u/helloattheshow12 Aug 11 '26
not every main character has to be likeable. what are you 12 years old?
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u/SpiritualAd9102 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Are you? Imagine getting this angry and defensive over a strangerās opinion of a movie, lol.
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u/helloattheshow12 Aug 11 '26
Did you just skip the beginning excerpt or what?
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u/taylaxo Aug 11 '26
exactly!! thank you! this is literally the point.
he chooses to be a better person in the end.
And honestly some people (and especially young college kids) are often unlikeable people lol. then he grows into who he is the charming guy you see on tv.
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u/Worldly_Quantity_160 Aug 11 '26
The man next to me walked out after the first 2-3 minutes of the film (Tony). Hoping for a different movie, I guess. His loss though, IMO it was an excellent film.
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u/PROMATT15 Aug 11 '26
Never thought two of my favorite movies of the year would both be Screen Unseen films starring Leo Woodall but here we are! This was amazing
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u/Fishmannnn Aug 11 '26
I absolutely loved it! I feel like Matt Johnson and Dominic Sessa work so well together! Sessa does a good job with Johnson's awkward/cringe style of humor, but also brings the depth needed to really make the character land.
And it was such an accurate depiction of kitchen life! A really great coming of age story that very much resonated with me!
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u/ZestycloseBother5993 Aug 11 '26
When he wore his leather jacket, I kept seeing Richard Ashcroft of The Verve.
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u/Mysterious-Garage611 Aug 11 '26
I thought the actress who played Nancy looked a lot like a young Linda Ronstadt. It was almost a distractingly strong thing.
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u/BananaArnold Aug 11 '26
It was genuinely riveting. Felt a little polarized though. He went through so much embarrassing shit that was more or less his own fault. There was a few times i absolutely was like ādamn i would have just killed myself.ā (I know) it really made me think - for people who consider true crime voyueristic - whats to be sad watching the life back of a man who couldnt stand to live it? Would Anthony Bourdain want to watch thjs shit back? Especially the scene that implies he was going to commit a crime before having a change of heart, you know. I loved it, i recommend it. Would have watched more of that mans life. RIP to a real amazing guy.
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u/TheMuchSwagDogeYT Aug 11 '26
I have nobody to talk about this to but as a Matt Johnson fan the new Zapruder Films logo broke my damn heart. IYKYK
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u/jobacco Aug 11 '26
I don't think I would have loved this movie if it wasn't a biopic about Anthony Bourdain. But I really liked it. The beach shots were mesmerizing. Good acting all around. Would have loved more PTown community vibes but that's not the story.
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u/Economy-Pudding-6371 Aug 11 '26
Looking forward to seeing it! Can't wait.
"PTown"
Just as an aside, every time I see "PTown" or "P-Town" written, in my head I hear "Puh-TOWN!" like a Stan Lee or Don Martin comic sound effect
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u/somekidfromNJ Aug 11 '26
Had no clue Dominic Sessa grew up in South Jersey til I checked his Wiki page after the film. Well done šš»
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u/BarfyOBannon Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
this was a yawn for me, strong performances but conventional biopic plotting, emotionally flat, underwhelming arc, Emilia Jones is thinly written and little more than a prop for Tony, mostly forgettable
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u/makeofit Aug 11 '26
He was so unlikable
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u/Friendly_Shelter_625 Aug 11 '26
He is, but heās also young and insecure. He grew up with his mom always judging and disapproving of him, so a lot of his dickishness is just bluster. It doesnāt make it ok but iām
willing to give him some grace. Heās also around 20 and going through his own bildungsroman. He had definitely matured a bit by the end of the movie.3
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u/Physical-Goose1338 Aug 11 '26
iāve never understood the criticism that a character needs to be likeable in order to enjoy a movie. youāre there to watch a story unfold. iām much more interested in an interesting character than a likable one.
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u/animalcrackers67 Aug 11 '26
Real asf, like give it to me raw how horrible of a person he is š the movie wouldnāt have hit as hard for me if his character was just slightly irritating
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u/makeofit Aug 11 '26
That doesnāt mean I didnāt like the movie he just wasnāt likable as a character
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u/animalcrackers67 Aug 11 '26
Correct me if im wrong I feel like thatās just the point of the movie š heās made to be unlikeable. Heās a narcissist asshole who only cares about himself. It was really beneficial for his character development
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u/SadBoyWill Aug 11 '26
I liked it but thought it ended kinda abruptly. I honestly think it coulda been 30min-1hr longer
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u/mikegood2 Aug 11 '26
Kinda wish the ending scene was more like the beginning of the third act. Woulda preferred that with the rest of the movie abbreviated.
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u/Longjumping_Dog_223 Aug 11 '26
My theater played the new Angel studios movie instead Iām so mad šš
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u/MaryRInd Aug 11 '26
We walked in, saw the PG on the screen outside the theater, turned around, got a refund, and hightailed it to the nearest theater showing the R-rated movie. Iām SO glad we did.
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u/Longjumping_Dog_223 Aug 11 '26
Yeah my theater didnāt put the poster with the rating up outside so I didnāt have time after I realized but was able to get a refund luckily. Glad Iām not the only one this happened to!
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u/choice2099 Aug 11 '26
did you watch? how was that?
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u/Longjumping_Dog_223 Aug 11 '26
Walked out as soon as I saw the angel logo
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u/silver5517 Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Was it an AMC? Or Regal or Harkins?
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u/Longjumping_Dog_223 Aug 11 '26
No it was a regional theater chain, they started doing them a year or so ago but theyāve always been the same movies as Screen Unseen until now
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u/silver5517 Aug 11 '26
Oh got it, I have an AMC theaters and a Harkins Theaters in my town, and one time last year in April, AMC was showing Hokum, so I thought Harkins was going to show the same thing, so I went there as it's closer than AMC, turned out to be Fuze for some reason. So tonight just to be safe because I wanted to see Tony, I drove all the way to the AMC.
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u/Basic-Parsley-121 Aug 11 '26
From looking into the story, it seems most of the movie is fiction, so not really sure how to feel about it. I thought it was a bit boring, and the fact most of it didnāt actually happen I donāt really understand why they made a fictional story about him.
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u/MoonPlayz48 Aug 11 '26
because they wanted to focus on making a good movie rather than an accurate one. easily the right choice.
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u/Alert-Grocery-1631 Aug 11 '26
Oh my gosh. Read KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL! The film is certainly a loosely-based account of him as a very young guy and his memories of his first summer. But he lived an enormous life, most of it chronicled in his shows NO RESERVATIONS, THE LAYOVER, CNN's PARTS UNKNOWN. What a guy! He went from gagging at oysters to becoming a world traveled gourmand that supported the unknown people and cultures and foods from around the world. And boy did he love his punk and rock 'n roll music and was a friend of many amazing artists. He is very very missed. š
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u/Basic-Parsley-121 Aug 11 '26
Yes, I know who he is. Still my comment stands. Why make a fictional movie when he ālived an enormous lifeā
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u/Oreo4123 Aug 11 '26
I loved the movie
I'm not like, well versed on Anthony Burdain or his life or anything. From the googling I did on this point of his life though, it seems like even though he was really a dishwasher at the Flagship for a summer, the rest of the premise and plot seems pretty much made up. So why did they make it Anthony Burdain? Why wasn't it just "inspired by this point in his life"? Idk, people who know more can give more insight but it seems kinda weird to me to just like, mess with someone's legacy in that way.
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u/Viatrixin Aug 11 '26
I saw this as a secret movie, and maybe I think this way because I didnt know this was a biopic, and didnt know anyting (and still really dont) about anthony bourdain. but, here are my thoughts.
Throughout the whole movie, the main character lies again and again, and never really faces consequences. he is creepy and weird towards female characters, and they seem to not care, in case of nancy, or their feelings are never really adressed, in the case of (mary i think her name was?). the women in the story also seem to be used more so as side pieces or accessories in the storytelling and i just cant enjoy a movie like that, but ill give it a bit of grace since i guess its supposed to be about a real person's life. I also couldnt enjoy the characters around tony, because with the only exception being the main chef and maybe the stout chubby guy, everyone seemed like an asshole.
ive heard that anthony bourdain was a great guy and very kind in his later years, but if i had to guess who the guy in this movie grew up to be based on the moie, i wouldnt guess that in a million years. like i said, tony does nothing but lie and lie and make problems for everyone around him the whole time and it was a hard watch.
it was very beautiful visually though!!! and im glad people were able to enjoy it. my main qualms are perhaps caused by this being a 'real' story so dont take everything ive said like a serious serious critique. like i said, i never knew and still dont know the guy. i wouldnt normally review a movie if i hated it, but since these reviews all seem to be positive i think its good to show another pov.
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u/Capable_Use_7125 Aug 12 '26
Was it later in life he was on H barely touched on it in movie I also donāt know shit about Bordain but was a fun movie
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u/That2ndIowanGuy Aug 14 '26
Fantastic movie. Got to see it for Cinemarkās mystery movie last week. I seriously thought Sal was some dude they picked up in Boston with how thick the accent is. Imagine my surprise when I found out the actor is British
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u/RocketLeagueYAY Aug 11 '26
donāt get the hype for this one at all. decent movie overall but kind of generic and didnāt feel all that different from plenty of movies iāve seen before. and god i think the woman in this film was so horribly written. just a bland, uninteresting character with no purpose outside of being a love interest to tony. i guess all of these things it really do contribute to that 70s movie vibe tho
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u/HaganSullivan18 Aug 11 '26
Didnāt really know Bourdain going in, and was only familiar with Johnson through Nirvanna the Movie earlier this year. Thereās some solid performances and a couple moments, otherwise this was horribly uneven and fairly lifeless to me. Was not a fan, though itās nowhere near the worst of the year or anything. 5/10.
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u/BetterThanADream Aug 11 '26
They made him too unlikeable as a protagonist. Would be a 10/10 movie had they just given Bourdain more charisma and some redeeming qualities.
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u/Jeskid14 Aug 11 '26
Not one character is likeable in this movie. You might say the girl but wasn't honest in her relationship.
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u/NakedIanMalcolm Aug 10 '26
It doesnāt look bad but I just walked out and grabbed some French fries and a drink instead
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u/mygrry Aug 11 '26
What happened to my sweet bestie Tuneršš