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©-DR-DINNER RUSH de Bob Giraldi (2000) p5
30/05/2014 05:39
Roger Ebert (fin)
So there's a crisis in management and a crisis in the dining room. A third crisis is unfolding in the kitchen, where Duncan (Kirk Acevedo), the only cook who will still make Louis' salsiccia e peperoni, is deep in debt to a bookmaker. Louis, who takes bets but is a reasonable man, tells Duncan's bookmaker: "Stop taking his action.
The kid's a pathological gambler. He needs help, not another bookmaker." There are enough plots here to challenge a Robert Altman, specialist in interlocking stories, but the director, Bob Giraldi, masters the complexities as if he knows the territory. He does. He owns the restaurant, which in real life is named Giraldi's. His center of gravity is supplied by Louis, who plays his cards close to his vest--closer than we suspect--and like a man who has been dealing with drunks for a very, very long time, doesn't get worked up over every little thing. He talks to his accountant and the visiting gangsters as if they're in the same business.
Like "Big Night," a film it resembles, "Dinner Rush" has a keen appreciation for the intricacies of a restaurant. In front, everybody is supposed to have a good time. In the kitchen, the chef is a dictator, and the workers are galley slaves. Udo has a scene right at the start where he makes one thing clear: Do it his way, or get out. The scenes in the kitchen show the bewildering speed with which hard and exact work is accomplished, and Giraldi is able to break these scenes down into details that edit together into quick little sequences--not surprising, since he has directed hundreds of commercials.
In a plot like this, there isn't a lot of time to establish characters, so the actors have to bring their characters into the film with them. They do. The gangsters walk in menacingly. Margolis has a manner that makes Fitzgerald hateful on sight. Bernhard and her long-suffering companion play out nightly private dramas over the work of the city's chefs. And Aiello suggests enormous depths of pride, sympathy, worry and buried anger. The last scenes are fully packed, with developments that come one after another, tempting critics to complain it's all a little too neat.
Maybe, but then you wouldn't want those story strands left dangling, and to spend any more time on them would be laboring the point: Like a good meal, this movie is about the progression of the main courses and not about the mints at the door.
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©-DR-DINNER RUSH de Bob Giraldi (2000) p6
30/05/2014 05:44
Precious Like Some Rare Wine!
Author: demunfallopferseinefrau from Braunschweig, Germany
2 September 2003
"Dinner Rush" has not been released in Germany --- which usually indicates a not very successful B-movie... In this case, it is a B-movie (shot in only 21 days!), but,uuhhh baby, it is one of the best B-movies ever made. Elegant camera movements, a superb ensemble cast (Danny Aiello, John Corbett, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Sandra Bernhard, Mark Margolis, and beautiful Summer Phoenix), an intriguing story, marvelously directed ... they usually don't make movies like that anymore. Bob Giraldi did an excellent job with his actors, and production designer Andrew Bernard created a stunning atmosphere.
"Dinner Rush" ranks among my all-time favorite films. It might be not suitable for everyone, but then, what movie is? It's an entertaining, witty, thoughtful portrayal of New York of the millennium --- enchanting!
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©-DR-DINNER RUSH de Bob Giraldi (2000) p7
30/05/2014 05:50
en haut à gauche :l'incorruptible chef de la police et madame
*
*
Tasty-looking food steals the show
8/10
Author: raymond-15 from Australia
12 January 2005
The film is about a trendy family restaurant in New York. As one character says..."It's a joint with a buzz!"It's an apt expression,for the film surely buzzes non-stop as the characters crowd into this very popular restaurant noted for its delicious food. Down below the restaurant is the kitchen where the meals are prepared. This is the most stunning part of the film. Absolutely believable. Perfect cinema.
Among the steaming saucepans and oiled fry pans there is the clatter of white plates on which the chefs and kitchen staff arrange the most surprising little temptations at lightning speed. The hand of the director is most noticeable here with superb choreographed movement of the actors in the confined space. There is clatter and chatter, laughter and fisticuffs.
The mood is different at the dining tables. Idle gossip among the clients and smart remarks to the staff about the appropriateness of hanging oil paintings in a restaurant. Then there is the presence of the food writers ready to criticize and gangster types insisting on a partnership with the management. It's all go...go...go...as the camera follows the dishes to the tables. There is a perpetual air of excitement.
The cameras constantly switch from dining room to kitchen and kitchen to dining room maintaining a lively feeling of urgency as the trays are carried up the stairs. The dialogue is fast too and I find it sometimes difficult to follow. The large cast requires some sorting out as well. The ending comes unexpectedly with a surprising twist. This film is really about revenge. Like some food preparations, revenge can simmer for a long time. One thing is made clear to me however. Revenge as a dish is best served cold.
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©-DR-DINNER RUSH de Bob Giraldi (2000) p8
30/05/2014 05:54
à droite (sous réserve) Summer Phoenix :Marti Wellington
*
*
A masterpiece in execution
8/10
Author: George Parker from Orange County, CA USA
23 January 2003
Fan a fresh deck of cards with the spots up and the coherence is immediately apparent. Shuffle the deck and coherence is lost...the purpose of the shuffle. In "Dinner Rush", Giraldi and company manage to shuffle a deck of plots, personal issues, and cuisine with the controlled chaos of a restaurant during the dinner rush while never losing coherence, building characters and stories, and wrapping everything up with a bow in just over 1.5 hours.
Masterfully crafted, "Dinner Rush" has a story to tell, offers solid performances, works well in claustrophobic conditions, sports a cosmopolitan cast, and is imbued with gourmet cooking and an ever present taste of "the Big Apple". Not for everyone, this flick will appeal most to those who can appreciate a film as much for its execution and style as for its story. (B+)
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©-DR-DINNER RUSH de Bob Giraldi (2000) p9
30/05/2014 11:12
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