In "Burnt" Bradley Cooper plays a burnt out chef, who hit it big in Paris with his culinary skills back in the 90's, but when the film opens he's on self imposed exile in New Orleans shucking oysters as a part of his self assigned penance; after throwing his career away with excessive partying, drinking and women! With a new awareness, after shucking a million oysters, he sets off for Europe to revive his career as one of the tops chefs in the world. Once in London it seems he has a many people who want to kill him as he does that want to help him. His sobriety is the key if he wants to resurrect his once famous name as a top chef.
"Burnt" is a feast for the eyes (it'll definitely make you want to go home and cook) but, to continue with the cooking analogy, it needs a little more seasoning. Perhaps it's because of the choppy style of a director who is mainly known for his quality TV directing, John Wells. (He directed episodes of the award winning TV shows E.R. and Southland.) It seemed to me like he took the cake out of the oven a little bit to early and never allowed things to develop to their fullest in the movie. For example, Uma Thurman is in just two scenes in the movie as an influential food critic. I suspect part of her performance was left on the kitchen floor during the editing process.
Bradley Cooper gives a fine performance as Adam Jones, the chef who seems hell bent on self destruction. The supporting cast, including Sienna Miller as his protégée in the kitchen and Emma Thompson as a therapist who helps him find the error of his ways, are also stellar.
The movie has a good moral (which I won't ruin for you by disclosing) and overall it was an enjoyable film. It's rated R for strong language and has a run time of 101 minutes. On my "Hollywood Popcorn Scale" I rate "Burnt" a MEDIUM.
Hollywood Hernandez
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