Chef

One of the things I liked most about Chef was that it was a simple yet entertaining film. It didn't have any over the top theatrics that have come out of Favreau's more recent "blockbuster" type films, but rather tells an entrancing story about a man rediscovering his passion and reconnect with his family. Carl Casper and Jon Favreau shared a lot of similar qualities like stepping back from large productions (for Jon, directing films and Carl working at high quality restaurants) that I believe he wrote in there on purpose, making the role almost autobiographical. Jon excelled at making a movie about getting back to basics and remembering where you started, and finding joy in those things again. Carl's relationship with his son Percy was also interesting to watch grow and shift as the movie went on, like with how Carl expected his son to be less knowledgeable and nonchalant and was constantly gruff, but Percy pushed back and had probably most of my favorite dialogue in the film. The story reminded me a lot of the recent film Birdman because it's a simple trip to be had, but the journey was the most entertaining to see as the characters grew and adapted, and because it almost seems autobiographical for the actors who appeared in both films.