Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageWhat's Cooking? (2000)
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Four LA families prepare for Thanksgiving. Well-off African-American Audrey Williams (Woodard) wants an elegant dinner with fare like shiitake and oyster mushroom stuffing, but her meddling mother-in-law's macaroni also fights for table space, while her son's antagonism further strains her crumbling marriage. Recently separated Elizabeth Avila (Ruehl) prepares an Hispanic feast, though she hasn't anticipated the presence of her new lover and her estranged husband. Vietnamese Trinh Nguyen (Chen), livening up a bird with East Asian spice, is disappointed that her kids prefer McDonald's, but saddened mostly by the absence of her eldest. The Seeligs try to accept their daughter's lesbianism, but they still wish she'd married a nice Jewish boy, while praying she'll pass her girlfriend off as a 'room-mate'. This is a studied representation of races and cultures, generational differences and changing notions of family, co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach) with humour and insight. The performances are uniformly well judged; Ruehl and Chen exude their customary class, while Sedgwick and Margulies provide a non-stereotypical portrayal of a lesbian relationship. A pity, then, that the film can't suppress an occasional tendency to dispaly its political correctness in neon.Author: KW
Cast & crew
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Producer: Jeffrey Taylor
Cast: Mercedes Ruehl, Victor Rivers, Douglas Spain, François Chau, Will Yun Lee, Maury Chaykin, Kyra Sedgwick, Dennis Haysbert, Eric K George, Brittany Jean Henry, Maria Carmen, Joan Chen, Kristy Wu, Lainie Kazan, Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard full cast
Duration: 110 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now