Bradley Cooper started out the year strong with an Oscar nomination for American Sniper. Then his career took a nosedive with the disappointing Aloha and now he can add a second one in the form of Burnt, a new movie about the passion and dangers of opening a successful restaurant and perfecting culinary arts. Instead of a movie that should offer us a soufflé of satisfaction, we get a concoction of conventionality.
Cooper stars as Adam Jones, a disgraced former chef who leaves the U.S. and makes his rounds in London and eventually Paris to give himself a second chance at opening a new restaurant and pursuing his ever-elusive third Michelin star. Jones’ career was sabotaged due to his constant drug use and irrational behavior on the job. Emma Thompson costars as a doctor trying to help him maintain his sobriety.
He finally opens his restaurant and recruits old comrades to help him run the place. However, old habits die hard when he demands that his cooks be on the same level of perfection as he is. Cooper does a score a moment or two that will no doubt make Gordon Ramsey proud.
Sienna Miller stars as his new love interest who plays a hand at attempting to give him stability and a chance at redemption. Could this movie be any more formulaic? I think I just answered my own question.
Burnt does give a few moments where the cast is trying to elevate the material whenever possible, but they still can’t escape all the trappings of this screenplay. It also features an uneven tone and a supporting performance from Uma Thurman as a British restaurant critic who only has one scene. I think her character should’ve been stretched and created a potential love triangle, but that would only add to further formula.
I didn’t hate the movie, but I wanted it to go further and try more. It bears repeating, but instead of script that gives us a five-star meal from a gourmet restaurant, we’re left with something straight out of McDonald’s. Don’t take that as a insult. I love McDonald’s.
Grade: C+
(Rated R for language throughout.)
