EatDrinkManWoman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When I last posted about Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, I called it a "gay-themed project" and speculated that the film might be about how the main character's involvement in Woodstock "served as redemption for giving up his own artistic ambitions and living most of his life in the closet." Now that I've seen the trailer, which you can watch below, that pompous description seems laughably wrong-headed. This won't just be "lighter" than much of Lee's previous work, as I also wrote; it's a full-on slapstick comedy, complete with a classic underdog storyline, and showdowns between hippies and uptight old fogeys.

Mainstream comedies tend to be under-directed. Even the Team Apatow films, while generally outstanding, don't exactly distinguish themselves formally or stylistically. But Lee is so damn deliberate and meticulous, with every shot and every cut calculated just so, that I'm really curious to see how he handles something this lightweight and apparently raucous. It certainly looks like a new Ang Lee mode; his last film that could be called a comedy was 1993's wistful Eat Drink Man Woman, and Woodstock seems to be worlds away from that film. Before that, Lee made a Taiwanese film called The Wedding Banquet that sounds like it might be closer, but I haven't seen it.

Anyway, I think Demetri Martin, who stars and introduces the trailer, is an extraordinarily funny guy (anyone seen his show on Comedy Central?), and how awesome is it to see someone other than Christopher Guest cast Eugene Levy in an actual movie as opposed to the latest direct-to-DVD American Pie "sequel"? This looks like fun; it's set to be released August 14th.

When epicurean delights hit the big screen, magic fills the air. The color is often magnified, and there's always a shining gleam in the eye. But you don't need faerie dust and magical spells to make this happen -- it's all within the food -- the hard, yet giving crunch of a piece of chocolate, the melting creaminess of aged cheese, the glistening slice of a fresh roast turkey, and even the refreshing bite of wine, or the calming warmth of tea to cap it off.

Although foodie movies are without their two greatest allies -- the sense of smell and taste -- some still manage to portray the enchanting spirit of fine feasts. Many films have food in them, but not as many delve into the passion of it -- the appreciation of flavor and texture, as well as the art. Stranger than Fiction has some tasty treats, but they're a side benefit of the film. Ying Ning's Perpetual Motion taps into it a little more -- detailing the creation of a feast, as well as the sensuality inherent in appreciative eating. But then there are others where it is all about the cuisine. It may seem picky, but in a world where we want the best of everything, is it really that snobbish to love a delectable piece of food?

The nibbles might bring people together, or drive them on the path of their lives, but either way, the films would be lost without it. In the wake of the holiday that makes gourmet gluttony a national celebration, here are seven films for foodies. They only tap into a small portion of both the world of cinema and culinary delights, but they hit many aspects of it, from the real drama of tea to the magic of chocolate. Nibble on these, and be sure to share your own.