What's Cooking? (2000)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Gurinder Chadha (written by) &
Paul Mayeda Berges (written by)

Release Date:

11 August 2000 (Norway)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Families. Fights. Feasts. A holiday tradition.

Plot:

In LA's Fairfax district, where ethnic groups abound, four households celebrate Thanksgiving amidst family tensions...

Plot Keywords:

Question In Title | Family | Interracial Romance | Lesbian | Thanksgiving

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Mercedes Ruehl	...	Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila
Victor Rivers	...	Javier Avila
Douglas Spain	...	Anthony 'Tony' Avila
Maria Carmen	...	Sofia Avila
Isidra Vega	...	Gina Avila
Elena Lopez	...	Grandma Avila
A Martinez	...	Daniel 'Danny'
Richard Yniguez	...	Robert Avila
Lorraine Perez	...	Auntie Delores
Eva Rodriguez	...	Auntie Eva
Adrian Armas	...	Avila cousin
Caz	...	Gordo, the Avila's dog
Joan Chen	...	Trinh Nguyen
François Chau	...	Duc Nguyen (as Francois Chau)
Will Yun Lee	...	Jimmy Nguyen

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, brief language and a perilous situation.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Vietnamese | Yiddish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Norway:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Because Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References "Bonanza" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Pipeline

Delightful Women-Focused, Multi-Ethnic Celebration of Family

"What's Cooking" is one of the most non-dogmatic feminist movies I've seen (as compared to say "24 Hour Woman") as exemplified by a climactic scene of one mother stuffing her face with two pieces of homemade pie amidst crisis while declaring "I'm weak? Is it weak to want to hold the family together?"

So many holiday or family gathering movies (like "Avalon" and "Hannah and her Sisters" and "Eat Drink Man Woman") have been made by men and they always felt off balance to me compared to my observations and experiences. Here the women in the kitchen are symbolically and functionally at the center of the meal preparation, the meal and the families.

Other women directors have been successful at portraying a single ethnic group's family issues, such as "Double Happiness" or Nancy Savoca's "True Love." But this is a multi-ethnic All-Americans Thanksiving in L.A. (reminding me of the children's book "Molly's Pilgrim") an L.A. where people from different traditions (Vietnamese, Chicano, African-American and Jewish) all integrate the trappings of the Pilgrims into that basic of ethnic identity--food-- to intersect in unexpected ways, at work, in the community, in their homes and in their hearts.

It's an impressive cast of actresses in particular; it's noteworthy that such a stellar cast would do a small indie -- clearly they jump at the chance to get "meaty" roles for women.

The audience laughed, and cried, and gasped. While your popcorn will pale beside the feasts before your eyes, be sure to eat something during the movie cause you'll be real hungry afterwards!

(originally written 11/19/2000)