Don't see this movie on an empty stomach.Because it's a movie about food. And you'll be drooling. And your stomach will be making weird noises.
Primo and Secondo (Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci) are two brothers who own an authentic Italian restaurant called Paradise. Primo's a food genius, a master chef. Cooking, to him, is art. When a woman asks for spaghetti and meatballs as a side dish, Primo's pissed. That's serving two starches together, and that's not good. "Maybe I put mashed potatoes for other side!" he says. Secondo basically keeps his distance. He knows Primo's a genius when it comes to food, but business is lacking.
Primo asks Pascal (Ian Holm) for advice and a loan. Pascal owns another Italian restaurant, and he gives people what they want. Pascal offers to have a famous Italian-American singer visit Paradise. The brothers will fix an excellent meal for the singer and his band, and all the papers will report on it, bringing more business to Paradise. Or so it's supposed to go.
Throw in the complications of Secondo's girlfriend Phyllis (Minnie Driver), Pascal's mistress (Isabella Rossellini) and the fact that the singer may not even show up, and you've got an engaging movie with a certain amount of charm that most films seem to be lacking.
Plus, there's all that food.
It's lovingly filmed (including an unbroken shot of one brother cooking and serving a perfect omlette to the other) and looks pretty damn tasty. It's as much a star of the film as the actors are.
Nicely acted and well done overall."To eat good food is to be close to God."
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