FEATURE FRIDAY | BURNT
Welcome to another installment of Feature Friday, in which we share with you some of our favorite Movies & TV shows! When we first were dating one of the things we bonded over was chatting about some of our favorite shows. We’ve found that is the same for a lot of our couples too! So, every now and then, we will showcase a different movie or show and share some of the reasons why we recommend it and the things that we really like about it. So be sure to tune in, check out some of our favorites, and maybe even turn it into a date night with your fiance! Make dinner or order in and tune in to watch one of our favorites.
This week: Burnt.
A while back, we covered Jon Favreau’s “Chef” and, apparently, decided we like movies about down-and-out chefs. Who knew?
But that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Where Chef was bright and cheery and optimistic, Burnt is dark and wistful and – at times – borderline terrifying. While it’s very funny at times, this is not a typical Bradley Cooper “guy who you really shouldn’t like, but you kinda do because he’s so charming” character. Yes, you really shouldn’t like him and yes, you kinda do because he’s so charming, but this is a far cry from The Hangover’s Phil. When we meet angry ex-chef Adam, he is trying to atone for his previous sins by taking a job shucking oysters at a New Orleans bar. He’s told himself that when he shucks his one millionth oyster, he will quit and once again chase his dream of becoming a three-Michelin-star chef.
He tries to reconcile with the people he’s wronged and here’s where we’re going to take a little tangent because our nerd-sense pricks up. Several members of the cast going forward have ties to comic book movies. Cooper, of course, plays Rocket Raccoon in the Guardians Of The Galaxy films. His former maitre d’ Tony is played by Daniel Bruhl, who was Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War. His friend Conti is Henry Goodman who played HYDRA doctor List in two Marvel movies as well as on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Michel is played by Omar Sy, who was Bishop in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Restaurant critic Simone is Uma Thurman, who was Poison Ivy in the disastrous Batman and Robin. His psychiatrist Dr. Rosshilde is Emma Thompson, who – near as we can tell – has never been in a comic book movie, but she was in three Harry Potter movies, so she totally counts.
Even though you pretty much know from the opening credits that Adam is going to be okay, his journey there is harrowing. He is a deeply ill man who has done horrible things in his life and watching him struggle with those inner (as well as external) demons is heartbreaking. Cooper’s performance really helps prop up a script that, in all honesty, is not great. But Adam is such a compelling character and Cooper has transcended the “good-looking funny guy” from the beginning of his career and become a genuine film star. He’s worth the cost of a rental alone.
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