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Movies / On DVD / What's Cooking?
What's Cooking?

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What's Cooking? (2000)

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Reviews Counted:65

Fresh:34

Rotten:31

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: What's Cooking? is well-acted, but the scenes sometimes sink into melodrama as characters scream at each other, and the movie as a whole is too lightweight and forgettable.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Coming together is the theme of What's Cooking?, Gurinder Chadha's funny, mouth-watering and deeply moving vision of 21st century diversity and the future of the American family -- all set on... Coming together is the theme of What's Cooking?, Gurinder Chadha's funny, mouth-watering and deeply moving vision of 21st century diversity and the future of the American family -- all set on Thanksgiving. Flowing from California kitchen to California kitchen on this day of reunions and homecomings, Chadha follows four seemingly disparate families as they confront differences and familiarity; laughter and festering anger; shiitake mushrooms and mashed potatoes; near-disaster and, ultimately, the astonishing power of love to connect them all.

What's Cooking? is a rapt celebration of families braided from a comic collision of cultures. What is the recipe for today's American family? With a smart, high-energy and boldly voyeuristic camera, Gurinder Chadha and an accomplished ensemble cast peer behind the front doors of ordinary Los Angeleno houses to reveal the sweet and savory mix. -- © 2000 Trimark Pictures [More]

Starring: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick

Starring: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard, Lainie Kazan

Director: Gurinder Chadha

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Screenwriter: Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges
Producer: Jeffrey Taylor
Studio: Trimark Pictures

[See More Credits]

Reviews for What's Cooking?

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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A combination of fresh ingredients mixed together with skill to create a well-balanced harmony of diverse flavours. Delicious.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/20/01
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
09/17/01
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/11/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
12/15/03
Lynne Truss
Lynne Truss
Daily Mail [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
12/15/03
Neil Norman
Neil Norman
This is London
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Like the Turkey Day feast, the delicious payoff is worth the wait.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a meal you may feel you've eaten before, but you nonetheless walk away stuffed and happy.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chadha melds comedy and tragedy so masterfully that one's laughing at and crying for the characters simultaneously.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

Patient viewers will find that by the time the sparks start to fly and the tears to flow, the wait will have been worth it, to say nothing of the laughs.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Graham
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle

I enjoy kissing women, and I'd be happy to do it again.

Full Review Source: PopcornQ | comment Comment
04/04/01
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
PopcornQ

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
04/10/01
Christabel Padmore
Christabel Padmore
Apollo Guide

The different ethnicities are presented with keen observation and affection.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

This valentine to the cultural diversity that defines L.A. is a second-tier Altman (or even Paul Thomas Anderson)a broad, accessible comedy that contrasts four large and dynamic families residing on the same street: Latino, black, Jewish, and Asian.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/20/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
08/20/01
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Chadha celebrates the cultural and racial diversity of Los Angeles. . . . Don’t miss this wonderful film!

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

I was most impressed with the story of Kyra's character, and how her lifestyle affects her relationship with her parents.

Full Review Source: Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Greg Dean Schmitz
Greg Dean Schmitz
Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

Chadha and Berges' script gushes with humanity, but (wipe sweat from brow here) doesn't devolve into excessively sentimental junk.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Gregory Weinkauf
Gregory Weinkauf
New Times
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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Latest News for What's Cooking?

November 24, 2005: A Day to Give Thanks (for Good Thanksgiving Movies!)
The Newsday column gets to take a few days off during the big holidays, but I couldn't let today go by without offering our friends a handful of Turkey-day treats. If you're... More...

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