No, I have not seen the low-budget film Bitter Feast by director Joe Maggio. It was released on DVD and on-demand this week. You can watch the trailer here.
I suppose I should see it, though, because the movie has a restaurant theme. But it's a horrible restaurant theme. And to add insult to injury, it co-stars that great matinee idol Mario Batali.
The film, which was supposedly inspired by former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, is the tale of a self-important chef (played by James
LeGros) who loses his job after receiving a scathing restaurant review. To get revenge, he kidnaps the self-important food blogger (played by Joshua Leonard) and
punishes him severely for not being able to prepare deceptively simple
food challenges.
Moviemaker.com is sponsoring a contest to win a copy of the DVD. I'm not interested. I've experienced enough real restaurant horror in my life -- although not this particular scenario, I'm happy to say -- so I don't want to watch Joe Maggio's horror fantasy. The ridiculous scene in My Best Friend's Wedding, during which Julia Roberts plays "an important restaurant critic," was horrible enough.
But if you happen to see it, tell me about it in the comments.
