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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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52 %
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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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61 - 77 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Chadha transforms this sitcom material into a lively and charming film about the melting pot at full boil.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A glorified TV movie.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark Caro
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune

Contrived, cliched and condescending.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark Rahner
Mark Rahner
Seattle Times

Burdened with a largely uninspired script that serves up stock characters and one too many clichés.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Gregory
Mike Gregory
Reel.com

Chadha handles the multiple story lines and large cast with an expert hand, cutting back and forth to underscore the similarities and the differences.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Chadha tries to keep so many balls in the air at once, she can't generate any steam in the individual stories.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Paul Tatara
Paul Tatara
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Because the stories are so skillfully threaded together, the movie doesn't feel like an exercise: Each of the stories stands on its own.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Each story climaxes in inevitable clashes and shrill shouting matches.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/01/00
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Like too many Thanksgiving dinners, too much squabbling really wreaks havoc on the digestion. Football, anyone?

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

Warm-hearted but completely forgettable.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It wears both its heart and its politics too obviously on its sleeve for comfort.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Many of the ingredients in this movie melting-pot quickly become so sweet as to spoil the soup.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Susannah Breslin
Susannah Breslin
TNT's Rough Cut

It will not only make your mouth water at four extraordinary meals, but also will bring smiles and chuckles.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Sander
Tom Sander
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Like the meal itself, the movie's both filling and familiar.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Entertainment Weekly
 
 
61 - 77 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4
all

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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