Black & A Half

The Longest Running Comedy Podcast In Seattle. Probably.

Review: The Menu

November 17, 2022 by Silas Lindenstein

The Menu  (2022)
R‧ Horror Comedy ‧ 1 Hour 46 Minutes

Written by Seth Reiss, Will Tracy
Directed by ‎Mark Mylod

THE CAST

  • Ralph Fiennes as Julian Slowik
  • Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot
  • Nicholas Hoult as Tyler
  • Hong Chau as Elsa
  • Janet McTeer as Lillian Bloom
  • Judith Light as Anne
  • John Leguizamo as Movie Star
  • Reed Birney as Richard Liebbrandt
  • Paul Adelstein as Ted. Lillian’s editor
  • Aimee Carrero as Felicity
  • Arturo Castro as Soren
  • Mark St. Cyr as Dave
  • Rob Yang as Bryce
  • Rebecca Koon as Linda
  • Peter Grosz as Sommelier
(From L-R): Judith Light, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, Janet McTeer, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, and Mark St. Cyr in the film THE MENU. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

THE STORY

“Young couple Margot and Tyler travel to a remote island to eat at Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant run by celebrity chef Julian Slowik, who has prepared a lavish molecular gastronomy menu where food is treated as conceptual art, although his approach to cuisine has some shocking surprises for the wealthy guests.”

MORE DETAILED STORY

(In their own words) A couple, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), travel to a coastal island in the Pacific Northwest to eat at an exclusive restaurant, Hawthorn, where the reclusive, globally celebrated Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish tasting menu for select special guests. Joining the couple are three young, already inebriated tech bros, Bryce (Rob Yang), Soren (Arturo Castro) and Dave (Mark St. Cyr), an older wealthy couple and repeat clients, Anne and Richard (Judith Light and Reed Birney), renowned restaurant critic Lillian Bloom (Janet McTeer) and her slavish magazine editor Ted (Paul Adelstein), and a famous middle-aged movie star (John Leguizamo) with his assistant Felicity (Aimee Carrero). Hosted by the immaculately dressed front of house staff led by general Elsa (Hong Chau), the evening unfolds with increasing tension at each of the guest tables as secrets are revealed and unexpected courses are served. With wild and violent events occurring, Slowik’s motivation begins to rattle the diners as it becomes increasingly apparent that his elaborate menu is designed to catalyze to a shocking finale.

Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes in the film THE MENU. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

THE BEST


The BEST things about the film

  1. The story – It’s a very creative story, one that I don’t think I’ve heard before. It’s suspenseful, thrilling, really funny, and you have trouble predicting where it’s going to go. Wonderful satire.
  2. The themes – There are just so many wonderful themes about class warfare. Rich vs Poor, Have vs Have Nots, Givers vs Takers. There are so many underlying themes, the more you talk about it, the more you see. 
  3. The writing – This is a really well written film. Subtle, great dialogue, and layers upon layer of meaning behind everything. 

THE WORST

The WORST things about the Film

  1. More backstory of most of the cooks would have really helped understand more.
The cast of the film THE MENU. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

THE LESSON

The rich don’t deserve bread. 

THE FINAL WORD

This is a film that the audience should really devour. It is a tasting menu of satire, horror, comedy, thrills, and terror. Wonderfully written and speaks volumes about the role of class and the divide between the rich and the poor. This is not just another horror movie, it’s a warning that there is a breaking point and a message to the servant class about the power of saying ‘No.” Ralph Fiennes is a stand out as the celebrity chef Julian Slowik.

THE VERDICT

My 3L system gives me the choice to Love It, Like It, or Lose It. 

The Menu gets a ‘Love It”

A course from the film THE MENU. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

THE MEME REVIEW

THE TRAILER

If you like this post, please share it along:

Previous Post


Review- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Next Post


Review – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

About Silas Lindenstein

When he’s not reviewing films or interviewing people for the Black & A Half podcast, Silas Lindenstein can be found in the greater metro Seattle, WA working as a real estate agent helping people buy and sell homes, or performing stand up comedy to fellow nerds. He has a wife and three children and desperately wants to learn to make the perfect homemade pizza.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply




Related Posts

  • Review: Jurassic World Dominion
  • Review: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
  • Review – Moonfall
  • Episode 134: B&H Reviews: The Banker, On The Rocks, & Borat Subsequent MovieFilm

About

  • About Black & A Half
  • Become A Black & A Half Patron!
  • Films
    • “Coming Out” – A Short Film
    • G.A. – A Short Comedy
    • The Final Piece – A Short Horror Film

Recent Posts

  • Review: Dungeons & Dragons:Honor Among Thieves
  • Review: Rye Lane
  • Review: Shazam! Fury Of The Gods
  • Review: Scream VI
  • Review: Champions

Categories

  • 7 Questions
  • Academy Awards
  • Action Films
  • Actor
  • Aftershow
  • Amazon Prime Films
  • Animated Films
  • Apple TV
  • Apps
  • Author
  • Baker
  • Being Woke
  • Best Of
  • Black Life
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Blerds
  • Burlesque
  • Christmas Cookie Challenge
  • Comedian
  • Comedy
  • Comic
  • Comic Book Movies
  • Comic Books
  • Comicon
  • Corona
  • Crime Film
  • Dancer
  • Documentaries
  • ECCC
  • Election Night
  • Emmy Awards
  • Fantasy
  • Film Festivals
  • Film Reviews
  • Film Reviews 2020
  • Film Reviews 2021
  • Film Reviews 2022
  • Film Reviews 2023
  • Filmmaker
  • Films
  • Films of 2021
  • Food Network
  • Foreign Films
  • Game of Thrones
  • Game Show
  • GeekGirlCon
  • Genres
  • ghosts
  • Halloween
  • Hip Hop
  • Horror
  • Horror
  • Hot Topics
  • Hypnotist
  • Improv
  • Interviews
  • Jazz
  • Life Coach
  • Live Events
  • MCU
  • model
  • Movie Reviews
  • Movie Reviews 2020
  • Movie Reviews 2021
  • Movie Reviews 2023
  • Movies
  • musicians
  • Mystery
  • native american
  • Nerd News
  • Netflix
  • Netflix Shows
  • Norwescon
  • Origin Stories
  • Parasite
  • parenting
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Post of The Week
  • Producer
  • quarantined
  • Religion
  • Robinhood
  • RomCom
  • Scientist
  • Scifi
  • Seattle
  • Seattle Mayor
  • Self Help
  • Short Films
  • Shows
  • SIFF
  • Singer
  • Stand Up Specials
  • Star Trek
  • Star Trek Picard
  • Star Wars
  • Stock Market
  • Storyteller
  • Superheroes
  • The Bookend
  • the Mandalorian
  • Theatre
  • Thriller
  • Thrillers
  • Travel
  • TV Reviews
  • TV Shows
  • tvreviews
  • Uncategorized
  • Video Games
  • You

Copyright © 2023 · Podcast Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in