The Menu

 

To say director Mark Mylod's The Menu is not for every taste would be too cute by half -- but it isn't. I loved it.

A dozen or so high-rollers and a ringer have purchased tickets to an exclusive barrier island restaurant run by the reclusive Chef Slowik (an unnerving Ralph Fiennes), who boasts that he prepares the world for the delectation of his guests. The cost of a ticket is $1,250, which includes transport by ferry boat to the island.

Among the guests are Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), a pretentious foodie fan boy, and his date for the evening, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), who may not be who she says she is. But that appears to be true for everything in this picture.

The guests are seated and the multicourse meal begins with Chef introducing each presentation with a loud clap and instructions to the patrons to savor and not, vulgarly, "eat" what he's prepared. It's all exquisite. And Mylod has included graphic elements to describe each dish.

As the evening progresses, it becomes clear that food (or its approximate) is not the only thing on the menu -- one might say, if one were inclined, that the patrons are being served their "just desserts."

It's all delightfully over-the-top and pointed satire about consumerist culture and the vultures who feed on other people's vanity.

The humor is savory, the violence robust and the after-taste smoky.

Bon appetit!

P.S. You might be craving Five Guys after seeing this picture.