Twinkle, Twinkle Michelin Star
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: In "
The Hundred-Foot Journey," Hassan Kadam (
Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (
Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant - the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award-winner
Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own, escalate to all out war between the two establishments - until Hassan's passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory's enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (
Charlotte Le Bon) combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory's culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan's gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.
Bollywood meets chivalry (Dame Mirren) in this foodie
yawn. Aimed at older audiences, I nodded off for 20 minutes (out of 122) "thanks" to its painfully predictable (and relatively boring) story. There's hardly any humor, and the love story between Hassan & Marguerite is devoid of passion. Even the parts with food are
bland. Mirren and Puri are fun to watch; but director
Lasse Hallström doesn't lean on them enough. Hassan's mom remarks early on, 'Life has its own flavor.' Unfortunately, The Hundred-Foot Journey doesn’t seem to have
any. Pass the salt, and wait for the DVD.
Grade:
C-
