Ratatouille Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)July 2nd, 2007
"Ratatouille" - Gourmet Moviemaking
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
There's a scene in which a dour, but supremely
influential food critic challenges the head chef
of Gusteau's, (once a 5-star destination for
discerning diners that has devolved into 3-star
mediocrity) to come up with any dish so that it
can be reviewed. This reviewer has been dubbed
the Grim Eater (voiced by Peter O'Toole) for his
likeness to an undertaker, his macabre posture,
his ability to buoy or to destroy the reputation
of a restaurant (in a previous review for this
restaurant, he wondered if the cuisine was cooked
by Chef Boyardee), and for his hard-to-please
nature. As he puts it, "I don't like food, I
love it. And if I don't love it, I don't
swallow." The chef realizes that success means
finding a way to appeal to his inner child.
Whether this ploy is successful or not in
mollifying the food critic, I'll let you see for
yourself. But for discerning adult movie goers,
this strategy is beautifully employed as this
film will transport us back to our childhood.
The Pixar studio has reliably produced one
imaginative and entertaining film after another.
In "Ratatouille," a young rat named Remy (voiced
by Patton Oswalt) has a unique culinary sense of
smell and taste. His wish is to become a famed
gourmet chef. Of course, his family is skeptical
because normal rats are content with eating
trash, humans generally want to exterminate rats,
and there just seems to be a hygiene issue here.
In a funny series of events, Remy eventually
finds his way into the kitchen of the
aforementioned Gusteau's, where the majority of
the film takes place. He develops an unlikely
partnership with a meek cook-in-training named
Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano) and suddenly the
restaurant begins to surge in popularity.
Success seems to always frustrate various people,
including the head chef who is perplexed; the
Grim Eater who seems to want to always write
negative reviews; and a potential romantic
interest who thinks that fame is getting to his
head.
Like all Pixar's films, the look and feel is
gorgeous. Set in Paris, there is a wonderful
atmosphere created by the use of subtle colors
and the beautiful imagery of Paris's most
well-known landmarks. Meanwhile, the film's
soundtrack has the feel of early 1960s jazz that
give it an undeniably hip rhythm. In fact,
storywise, I think that "Ratatouille" is the best
of the Pixar bunch. It takes a fresh tact by
minimizing action sequences and, instead, boldly
evokes a classier and more romantic era, like
when "Lady and the Tramp" showed two dogs
in-love, eating a strand of spaghetti from
opposite ends until their lips eventually
touched. This film has increasingly more depth
and more emotion as this tale of comedy and
romance and invention glides along.
I've reviewed many films, and the overall summer
batch has been terrible with some marginal
exceptions. And, my expectations about a film
whose trailer shows a rat running through a
kitchen were low. But when you see the pivotal
scene at the end with the chef facing off with
the Grim Eater, you'll know how I felt. And
"Ratatouille" simply overwhelmed me with joy.
Grade: A
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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