This piece was originally published on December 22, 2017, as part of "Eat, Drink, Watch" — the weekly newsletter geared toward readers who enjoy ordering delivery and tuning into television. Browse past editions and sign up today.
With 2017 winding down, it's the perfect moment to reflect on the standout food-related film moments from the past twelve months. Below, I've highlighted my choices for the top five films centered on eating and drinking, and the week ahead will feature my roundup of the finest food-focused TV episodes.
Before jumping into this week's list, I want to address an oversight from last week's edition of Eat, Drink, Watch. Shortly after sending out the newsletter — which featured a recommendation for Bill Murray's Netflix special A Very Murray Christmas alongside a roundup of sexual misconduct allegations involving TV chefs — a reader reminded me that Murray had faced similar accusations years earlier. I regret not recalling those reports and shouldn't have included his holiday special among last week's picks.
On a personal note, I have no interest in promoting anything that glorifies a chef or public figure who has been accused of sexual misconduct or abuse. With that in mind, I'm eager to survey the television and film landscape in 2018 and share with you all the standout movies and series worth your time.
Now, without further delay, here are my picks for the year's top films, presented in reverse order.
Five standout food-focused films of 2017
5) Okja
This Netflix original resembles Charlotte's Web crossed with E.T. crossed with Taken, garnished with a generous helping of late-1990s Tim Burton weirdness.
Bong Joon-ho's comedic fantasy, which centers on a young Korean girl and her superpig, functions on the surface as a message film about the moral problems with eating animals — though if you've already grappled with the ethical dimensions of meat consumption, it likely won't shift your perspective dramatically one way or the other.
It isn't a particularly harsh indictment of omnivorous living, yet Okja succeeds at illuminating the strange overlap between the artisan and farm-to-table movement and the world of corporate food giants. Mirando, the villainous corporation run by a deceptive CEO (brought to life brilliantly by Tilda Swinton), aims to win over the public by highlighting the special bond between a Korean farm girl and her enormous porcine companion, while simultaneously marketing budget sausages produced from the rest of the superpigs. Mirando's intentions are exaggerated for effect, but you catch a glimpse of that same energy in every fast-casual establishment that hangs a manifesto on the wall about serving "real food for real people."
At its core, Okja is a wildly entertaining story and a fine illustration of Netflix's gift for crafting programming that attracts a broad audience while still retaining a distinctive, niche appeal.
Stream it on: Netflix
4) Wasted
Several food documentaries hit screens in 2017 with shaky facts and questionable agendas. But this crisp, 90-minute film from Zero Point Zero — the production outfit behind Anthony Bourdain's television programs — features a lineup of thoughtful voices examining a genuine crisis and the wide range of ways we might address it.
The numbers are jaw-dropping: roughly 1.3 billion tons of food are discarded globally each year, and 40 percent of all food produced in America winds up in the trash. As you'd expect from the team behind Mind of a Chef, Wasted employs a variety of inventive visual devices to communicate these statistics. It stands among the more visually inventive food documentaries available, but its most powerful sequences come when chefs such as Dan Barber and Danny Bowien discover fresh methods for transforming scraps into ingredients in their own kitchens. Even if it doesn't transform you into a food-waste evangelist, Wasted might spark a handful of new strategies for how you shop and prepare meals.
One note: my single reservation about the film is that it includes several segments featuring Mario Batali as an interviewee (it counts, by my reckoning, as one of three major food documentaries he appeared in this year). The film was released prior to the surfacing of allegations regarding his sexual misconduct. If the topic interests you, Wasted remains worth your time because the spotlight falls on a broader culinary movement rather than the personalities discussing it.
Stream it on: Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube
3) Ingrid Goes West
After viewing this dark comedy about a trend-obsessed Los Angeles influencer and the stalker who temporarily becomes her close friend, you may regard your Instagram feed through an entirely different lens.
Taylor, the Venice, California-based Instagram celebrity, leads an existence fueled by avocado toast and rosé — enviable yet hollow. Ingrid, her most devoted admirer, is an obscure Midwesterner who treks to the cafes and boutiques she spots on her screen hoping to encounter her hero. To break into Taylor's actual life, Ingrid fabricates a few stories and crosses a few boundaries. Once she's inside the Taylorsphere, the situation takes an increasingly bizarre turn.
Ingrid Goes West delivers frequent laughs and occasional moments of bleakness. Yet the film retains emotional warmth, owing largely to the magnetic performances from Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. The movie also delivers a pointed commentary on the performative and occasionally corrosive aspects of social media. Most importantly, it reminds viewers that genuine, breathing humans exist on both sides of the screen.
Stream it on: iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Video
2) The Trip to Spain
Mirroring the first two entries in Michael Winterbottom's series, The Trip to Spain blends absurd humor with moments of genuine introspection between Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, all set against the backdrop of some of the globe's most celebrated restaurants. The actor-comedians are seasoned diners with refined palates, yet the restaurant sequences in this film are never truly focused on the cuisine — instead, Mick Jagger impressions, improvised James Bond parodies, and complaints about getting older consume most of their mealtime conversation.
As we hurtle through the era of Peak Food Appreciation, it's invigorating to encounter a film that grasps how meals are primarily about the company you share them with, and how lingering over a meal at a restaurant often offers the best escape from life's harsher moments.
Stream it on: iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Video
1) The Founder
Due to unfortunate timing and a number of other Hollywood obstacles, this biopic chronicling McDonald's architect Ray Kroc had a brief theatrical run and received scant awards attention — a real disappointment, given that it stands as a Prestige Drama that sidesteps many of the genre's typical shortcomings.
The Founder chronicles restaurant devotion taken to its zenith. Kroc (portrayed by Michael Keaton), a businessman carrying a résumé stacked with past failures, perceives far more than a lucrative enterprise in the San Bernardino, California burger joint run by the meticulous brothers Dick and Mac McDonald (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch, respectively). He envisions an institution that, akin to a church or post office, could serve as a cornerstone of community life, given proper stewardship. The film's tension emerges from Kroc's determination to replicate this model on a massive scale, despite the McDonald brothers' preference for keeping things modest and controlled. Along his trajectory toward wealth and notoriety, Kroc scorches more than a handful of relationships, though he also elevates a few kindred spirits.
Unlike most stories about celebrated artists or visionaries, this one lacks an "aha" moment in which the protagonist uncovers some latent ability or insight. In The Founder, the pivotal revelation occurs when Kroc recognizes that someone else has already built his ideal restaurant, and that he might claim a sense of creative ownership by introducing it to a new audience. He isn't truly the founder. He's more aptly described as the imitator.
You don't always find the character likeable, yet you have to respect his persistence and unwavering focus. The film also imparts a few lessons that will resonate with anyone who has worked in the food business — chiefly that failure rates are staggeringly high, and that the most successful restaurants sometimes amount to imitations of less celebrated predecessors.
The Founder ranks among the more compelling recent additions to Netflix's catalog. Perhaps now that it's available for streaming, the film — like Kroc himself — will enjoy its greatest success down the road.
Stream it on: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Video
Wishing you a holiday weekend overflowing with delectable meals and captivating viewing. Until next Friday.
