Step Up To The Plate

Step Up To The Plate is as much about the passing along of a legacy as it is about cooking.

What resonates here are two men, two good men, whose lives have a paradoxically simple and complex bond beyond their profession. Step Up to the Plate asserts how family, in multifarious ways, can be the most deeply affecting of ensembles.

The movie's patient in the way of "El Bulli: Cooking in Progress" or "Jiro Dreams of Sushi." That's where culinary nonfiction is now - sleepy, observant. And, for the most part, that's OK.

The film's true fascination is in the kitchen, as it is for the chefs themselves.

Paul Lacoste's almost purely observational approach allows him to come about as close to documenting the process of creation as anyone ever has.

While foodies are sure to feel sated by the gastronomic splendors of Paul Lacoste's debut documentary, others may walk out with a strange sense of emptiness.

Step Up to the Plate doesn't skimp on the food-porn goods, but the dynamic between its two stoical subjects is too undercooked to truly resonate.