Cheap Dinner Rush (DVD) (Danny Aiello, Edoardo Ballerini) (Bob Giraldi) Price

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Customer Reviews of Dinner Rush

Perfect blend of food and gangsters
When I rented this movie, I never thought I'd write a review of it, not to mention give it five stars. Dinner Rush, however, is one of those rare movies that is near perfect in every way. To focus on just one element, director Bob Giraldi's portrayal of the preparation and serving of food at a trendy New York restaurant is not merely filmed but choreographed. Food, pots, plates, chefs and waitpersons perform in a dance of fluidity and perpetual motion. Underlying this harmony of motion, however, is a constant tension. Chef Udo (Edoardo Ballerini) rules his kitchen with an iron fist and is ready to fire someone for the slightest transgression. Aside from the everyday challenges of running a kitchen, this restaurant has other problems. Louis, the owner (Danny Aiello) is a bookmaker who prefers the restaurant business to organzied crime. A pair of menacing thugs (who have already killed Louis' partner) are trying to strongarm their way into ownership of the restaurant. Louis' two sons are also trying his patience; Udo wants to run the place himself; Duncan, meanwhile, is a compulsive gambler who falls ever deeper into debt to the same thugs who want to take over the restaurant. In addition to the mob theme (hardly original, but expertly handled here), Dinner Rush does a superb job at portraying the pretentions of New York City nightlife. Mark Margolis is great as an insufferable art gallery owner who presides over a table of suitably hip contemporary artists and takes sadistic pleasure in being obnoxious and condescending to the staff. Sandra Bernhard it also pitch perfect as a snooty food critic. Dinner Rush strikes a good balance between recognizing the pretentions of so-called nouvelle cuisine and respecting the work that goes into preparing it. This is brought out in arguments between Louis, who prefers a traditional plate of sausage and peppers, and Udo, the ultimate nouvelle chef. When Udo prepares a ridiculous looking lobster dish that is a veritable sculpture, we can simultaneously laugh at the absurdity of it and marvel at Udo's talent. The film ends with an unexpected and satisfying twist. Even if you think you've seen more than your share of mob movies, and are not a fan of trendy cuisine (as I'm not), Dinner Rush will appeal to anyone who appreciates great scripts, acting and directing.

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An order of Sausage and Peppers......per favore
I've spent the bulk of my adult life in the food business as a student in cooking school, a chef, in restaurant operations and in food procurement. So I can attest to the accuracy of the crazy, loud cacaphonous milieu that serves, not just as a back drop, but as an active character in Bob Giraldi's "Dinner Rush." Giraldi himself is the owner of the restaurant where this movie was filmed. So he knows of what he speaks. The story itself involves bookmaking, addiction to gambling, murder, art, old style cooking versus nouvelle, the chef as star and old courtly values vs new cavalier ones to name a few things. Danny Aiello is the owner, Louis Cropa his son the chef, Udo (Edoardo Ballerino) at a bustling, newly busy restaurant in Tribeca. Udo has recently "saved" the restaurant from extinction and red sauce and meatballs with his new ideas and recipes...or has he? Aiello, with his raspy, quiet voice and his total command of the screen acts as the voice of reason and experience and it is obvious he longs for the old ways and the old times when his wife ran the restaurant and where he good get a plate of sausage and peppers. Stylistically, "Dinner Rush" is more like "The Godfather" than "Casino," in that, not only was the film shot in beautiful earth tones in middle light (as was "The Godfather") but, the values put forth are more like those of the 40's and 50's than those of the the year 2001. Giraldi seems to be saying: let's return to a time when life was more clear-cut and simple and Italian food meant red gravy and meatballs and you could tell the bad guys by the shoulder holsters,stick pins and two-toned spectator shoes. Danny Aiello dominates the movie but Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu (Nicole) and Kirk Acevedo (Duncan....late of HBO's "Oz") definitely make good impressions. "Dinner Rush" is a call for reason, re-evaluation and a reinstatement of old ways and values....and hey this makes more sense to me every day.

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Very Entertaining
The premise of this movie is rather simple - father/restaurant-owner/bookie wants to get out of the bookie business; son/chef who wants to take over the restaurant as part of growing up; young family friend in trouble with bookies.. BUT.. don't let that dissuade you from watching.

Except for the opening scene, the events of the movie all take place during one night and largely in one place when the conflicts built into the premise converge in the restaurant.

The cinematography is outstanding - the ballet of activity in the kitchen is wonderfully filmed

The acting is all top-notch. Even the minor characters (waiters, cooks, guests) deliver their roles well. The only drawback here is Sandra Bernhard as a food writer - she does schtick rather than acting.

The plot is simple and fairly predictable, but so was Casablanca which in some ways this movie's structure resembles.

Watch and enjoy.

Warning - eat a good meal first; the dinner scenes will make you hungry.