I have three vices: food, romance and movies. Chances are you like all three too!
I think one of the most delicious escapes are movies that exploit the love/food simile — and they’re the ones I can watch over and over again, equally rapt each time.
So in preparation for the inevitable arrival of February 14, here are some recommendations on what you can put on your Netflix queue!
In no particular order (except for Number 1)
This video does not have subtitles. But that’s of no consequence because I think just watching this excerpt gives you a clear idea of what is going on. While Big Night
is the food movie that “changed my life”, this is definitely my all time favorite food+love movie. I am a firm believer that a chef’s emotions comes through in her cooking. And the more sincere the emotion, the more energy gets transferred into what she makes. This book/movie is a parable for the food lover.
2. I Am Love
There were many times in this movie where I wanted to press pause because the photography was so breathtaking. The scene where she is eating the dish he prepares for her at the restaurant — each bite putting her deeper into a daydream so intense she is lost for a while — was worth the price of admission.
3. Waitress (Widescreen Edition)
I loved Felicity! I watched it with unwavering dedication every single week. Rooting for Noah and then Ben and the Noah again. This series reminded me why I knew — all the way back in high school, across the globe — I had to live in New York City! In this movie, Felicity grew up. And Kerri Russel is just as endearingly wonderful in this story of a woman who finds the courage to live the life she deserves. All the while baking one amazing pie after another.
4. Woman on Top
In this romantic comedy / fairy tale, Penelope Cruz plays a chef with such an extreme case of motion sickness that the only way she can overcome it is to be in control — even in bed — which challenges her husband’s machismo, and so he strays. She escapes her rocky marriage and moves to San Francisco where she becomes the star of a hit TV cooking show. The rest is over the top fun.
5. Chocolat (Miramax Collector’s Series)
One thing you should know about me by now: no movie “list” will be complete without one with Johnny Depp in it. Johnny Depp will always make my Top 5 Movies of Anything. I guarantee it. Challenge me. I dare you.
Love, chocolate, Johnny Depp. I changed my mind, maybe those are my three vices.
But seriously. Beautiful stranger in town introduces lustful chocolate to the townspeople resulting in awakening passions and unrest (to the dismay of a tyrant mayor). Equally beautiful gypsy stranger arrives to enjoy spiced hot cocoa with said chocolatier. Romance ensues. Sighs all around.
Johnny Depp saves the day.