The Hundred-Foot Journey

Is “feel-good” a bad word? Critics often think so. But when a movie explores real emotions en route to its gladdening end, when it takes time to touch on serious issues along the way, it earns the right to make us feel good.

I never entirely bought the flirty détente between the two or believed in the rapturous power of a perfectly cooked sea urchin to solve the world's problems. But for two hours, at least, I swallowed it with a smile.

An amiable cast and a satisfying enough story make The Hundred-Foot Journey stick to your ribs, even if it’s hard to swallow early on.

Any movie with food as a motif runs the risk of pouring on the metaphor, and that happens here, too.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is on a mission to make you cry. Whether you oblige will depend on your fondness for, or immunity to, the gentler stereotypes of movie romance.

The culinary culture clash comedy The Hundred-Foot Journey dawdles, like a meal that drags on and on because the waiter is too busy texting to bother bringing you the check.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is likely neither to pique your appetite nor to sate it, leaving you in a dyspeptic limbo, stuffed with false sentiment and forced whimsy and starved for real delight.

This is one of the best films I have seen this year, it was outstanding! The acting was excellent and the story fun and engaging. I think the only "problem" the critics must have had with this film is that it is clean; no drugs, language, or nudity! I highly recommend this movie.

A lusciously filmed, capably acted offering that mildly entertains, despite its need for some judicious editing and its tendencies toward schmaltzy predictability. These shortcomings are somewhat compensated for by Helen Mirren's deliciously wicked performance and the film's many exquisite culinary and landscape shots. Go in not expecting a lot, and you won't be disappointed.

After a disaster at home an Indian family moves to a small French village, where they decide to open a restaurant. Across the street is a one-star establishment run by a stuffy widow (Helen Mirren). The predictable culture conflicts ensue before the plot takes an extended turn around the son's culinary gifts. This is an entertaining but unoriginal movie (it is a Disney production, after all). The performances are all winning (patriarch Om Puri provides the laffs), Lasse Hallstrom's assured direction is solid and the cinematography of the countryside is lovely. It's also too long and lacking in any heft. While some may delight in its trite charms, it doesn't provide a fully-satisfying entrée.

I was surprised when Lasse Hallstrom's name came up in the closing credits. I think of his films as not only having a luscious look (which this does) but also offering characters and conflicts that make one laugh and cry. This one falls short in the latter category, despite the appealing actors. A horrible death, in an early scene, seemingly leaves little impact or trauma. On we go to the predictable culture clashes as the Indian family settles in France. Have to admit that the "journey" of the film's plot was not what I expected, but it leads to the same cliched conclusion.

I personally didn't like The Hundred-Foot Journey at all, it just isn't my type of movie. I found it quite boring really, it didn't appeal to me. However it is something different, which is good because you don't want to keep watching the same movie over and over again. But overall, it's not really my thing.