TONY REVIEW | Film Threat

Let's talk about the Anthony Bourdain movie, Tony. This film is directed by Matt Johnson, who did one of my other favorite movies this year, Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie, which is an amazing comedy that Matt Johnson also stars in in this he directs. And this is not a traditional bio pic. It's about Anthony Bourdain as a young man. He calls himself Tony. In the beginning of the film, he's he's submitted to do to get a scholarship to write a novel. He does not get the scholarship. And it's kind of a big setback for him. He lies to his family and a girl who he's attracted to saying he did get it, but he did not. And he goes off to is it. Where's he going? Martha's Vineyard. Oh, no, Providence, Providence, Providence. Where he ends up for a summer working first as a dishwasher and then a cook at a restaurant. And he is rough around the edges. He's he's angry for no reason. He's he really is attracted to this girl, Nancy, played by Amelia Jones. I mean, there's chemistry between them, but she has she's she's not convinced that he's the guy. He ends up making friends with the guys in the kitchen. Sal and Dimitri played by Leo Woodall. We saw in Tuner and Stavros Alkios, who is in the TV show Tires. I think he's great. Anthony Banderas plays Antonio. What's that? Antonio. Antonio. Excuse me. And thank you, Antonio Banderas plays zero. He's the he runs the restaurant. And he he teaches Tony about love of food, the passion of food. This film is about a young man coming of age over a summer, making lots of mistakes, getting in fights, getting his heart broken, failing over. I mean, there's a whole montage of Tony. He's he doesn't have anywhere to live, so he sleeps in the hammock outside of zero's house. And he's he's lazy. And so zero to wake him up every morning, takes a bucket of cold water and splashes it on his face. He does it every morning, every morning. There's a montage of him getting splat like he's shook awake by this. And it really is about him becoming a man. Take being accountable, taking responsibility, learning to control his emotions and control his creativity. And it's this it's not a whole it's only covers Anthony Bourdain's early life. So it's like just this one summer of how he kind of found the passion and love for food, women, and in addition, just life in general, taught by kind of this mentor, played by Antonio Banderas. Dominic Sessa is so good in this film and the way it's shot. You know, it's period piece in the in the 70s. And it it not only looks like it, it feels like it with the music, the tone, the way it's shot. So well done by Matt Johnson. And it really is this this kind of tone poem about the man. And it's why how he became who he was and why he is to be admired. So it's I just fell in love with this movie. Cannot recommend it enough. And and it's also very passionate and romantic. So one of my favorites of the year, but by the same filmmaker, Matt Johnson, love it. Two movies in one year. Yeah. Two in one year. What do you think, Alan? I really like this movie. And I I think I come at it from its themes more than anything else. Here's this is a kid, literally a kid who who basically has validation issues. You know, I think he comes from a family that just, you know, a father who is just too overly praiseworthy of him, you know, giving him too many chances with a mother who expects more, a lot more from from the guy. And he he's just he is that that coming of age where there's this inner conflict of he wants to be something, but he doesn't have the will or fortitude or discipline to ever get there. You know, he he's he wants to be a writer, but he can't he can't write. He just can't get himself to write. And so he lies as a way to validate himself, to to make himself feel like he's someone that he's not at this point in his life. And the movie basically takes that idea and takes him in and basically where he just digs himself deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper into a pit that he can't get out of. And literally 90 percent of the movie is him getting to that really deep, deep pit. And what I like about the movie and the theme of the movie is this idea of grace, forgiveness and second chances that these three things we have learned does not exist in American society today. If this movie, if Tony had lived, if, you know, a couple of years ago, he would have been canceled permanently by by now for the things he does. The way he touches women in this movie is like, wow, you know, that's it was risky then. It would definitely have gotten canceled today. And look, you know, somehow we've gotten to a point in society where we focus on the worst of people without the idea that, yeah, we're not perfect. We make horrible, bad decisions, but there is still this ability to pull yourself out of it, to become a better person by realizing your weaknesses. And overcoming and becoming the person that ultimately Anthony Bourdain becomes. And this movie is yeah, this movie is not about the life of Anthony Bourdain, but it's about the moment in time, this one summer that where he became the man he would ultimately become. And so, yeah, high praise and my recommendation. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's on my top ten for the year. It's that it's that good. And it's really about the tone. And if you tried to make a movie like this now because of the things that happened in the movie, you could not make it. You could only make this movie as a period piece, because I mean, it's romantic that it's not it's not filled with any modernity. This movie is like it's like a slice of life of that era. And it makes me miss that era where people could be, you know, people could not they don't he's not perfect. He's not a perfect person. No one's perfect. Yeah, exactly. That's the point. It's it's just to see him become a better version of himself and see that journey and see him learn and fail over and over. He fails. He's kind of a loser and then just finds himself. It's on on my top ten for the year. And I loved it. Can't recommend it enough. But what about you, Alan? Yeah, no, definitely recommendation. Yeah, Matt Johnson. I mean, this seems like the most serious of his films thus far. And he nailed the drama perfectly.