Chef

Next stop: Vegas, baby.

Next stop: Vegas, baby.

Rated 4.0

The chef at a high-end Los Angeles restaurant (writer-director Jon Favreau) melts down under a barrage of problems—a bad review from a critic (Oliver Platt), frustration with his pompous boss (Dustin Hoffman), issues with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) and son (Emjay Anthony)—and impulsively quits his job. Trying to rebuild his career, he takes on operating a broken-down food truck, bonding with his son and a colleague (John Leguizamo) while driving the truck back from Florida, serving as they go. Favreau's movie is loose-limbed, even a tad aimless, but it's appetizing in more ways than one (you'll probably be famished by the time you leave the theater), and it may prove to be the feel-good movie of the summer. Big-name cameos provide seasoning: Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Bobby Cannavale and Amy Sedaris.