Chadha transforms this sitcom material into a lively and charming film about the melting pot at full boil.
What's Cooking? (2000)
Tomatometer
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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
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
Reviews for What's Cooking?
Burdened with a largely uninspired script that serves up stock characters and one too many clichés.
Chadha handles the multiple story lines and large cast with an expert hand, cutting back and forth to underscore the similarities and the differences.
Chadha tries to keep so many balls in the air at once, she can't generate any steam in the individual stories.
It would take up too much space here to go through the huge cast trying to single out actors who deserve praise for the expressive details that bring such truth to the picture.
Because the stories are so skillfully threaded together, the movie doesn't feel like an exercise: Each of the stories stands on its own.
Each story climaxes in inevitable clashes and shrill shouting matches.
Like too many Thanksgiving dinners, too much squabbling really wreaks havoc on the digestion. Football, anyone?
It wears both its heart and its politics too obviously on its sleeve for comfort.
Many of the ingredients in this movie melting-pot quickly become so sweet as to spoil the soup.
It will not only make your mouth water at four extraordinary meals, but also will bring smiles and chuckles.
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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