Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

pk-2 I see this came out in 2000. I have no recollection of this being in the theater. Just happen to catch in on cable on some crazy channel and I loved it. Great acting from a list of great actors. Really no complaints about anything besides a minor one brought up in one of the forums about the opening credits and the red lettering being used. Movie just rushes along, with its various subplots. I really was surprised by Corbetts character. That came out of nowhere. Though its mainly a drama, I found myself laughing at allot of scenes. Like Fitzgeralds constant rich drunken rants. Funny stuff. Though at times i wanted to strangle Duncan for his stupid gambling problem, it all works out well. I saw the location of this restaurant on here. I must of walked by it a 100 times without any thought back in the day. I'll have to check it out the next time i'm in lower Manhattan.

Ed-Shullivan The only negative comment I could make about this superbly crafted (and casted) movie gem would be the movie's title DINNER RUSH. If I was the producer I would have re-titled the picture "A TABLE JUST FOR YOU". Why this title name change? Because I actually felt like I was sitting in the New York Tribeca area restaurant named Gigino's. What a fantastic job by Director Bob Giraldi to make everyone feel as if they were actually having a meal at this fine Italian eatery. (Apparently Bob Giraldi actually owns the restaurant where the film was shot.) So what makes this movie rate a 9 out of 10? Heck, I would have given it a 10 but the only thing Giraldi could not pull off was to provide me with just one of the hundreds of beautiful meals prepared throughout the movie. I could almost smell and taste the authenticity of the food all the cooks were preparing in the kitchen. mmmmmmmmAs for the acting I can't say enough about this all star cast. Danny Aiello, a personal thank you for bringing the character of Louis Cropa to life. As the owner of Gigino's, Louis Cropa loses his business partner early in the movie as a result of a cold blooded murder. Thus setting the stage for the criminal element to demand a table at Gigino's with the intent to extort a big piece of the ownership away from Louis Cropa the sole survivor owner.Also wonderfully cast as Louis's son and his head chef Udo, is Edoardo Ballerini. Controversy and tension between father and son plays out due to the head chef's menu choices. Udo prefers to wow his dinner guests with flare and presentation whereas Udo's father Louis recognizes the traditional fare of tomato sauce and meatballs which made his restaurant a mainstay in the Tribeca area. Also coming between Udo and his father Louis, is the Sous Chef named Duncan, who is a habitual gambler, played to perfection by Kirk Acevedo. His performance stands out because of the challenges he faces between mentoring some of the new chefs, preparing the fabulous meals he is known for, his relationship with the hostess who he loves, and the demons that keep him gambling well above his means to pay his debt to the gangsters who are sitting upstairs waiting to devour more than just their freebie nine course dinner.There are so many great characters in this film, too many to mention. The ending of the film is one of the best I have seen. I would hate it if someone spoiled it for me so suffice to say the ending "is a dessert best served cold." This movie rates a 9 out of 10, but if Giraldi brings me a meal, I will give it a 10. Bon appetite! Enjoy!

Ed Uyeshima If you like to flip the channel dexterously between "The Sopranos" and the Food Network, this 2000 movie may be for you. Directed by Bob Giraldi, who is still probably most famous for directing a pre-surgery Michael Jackson in his "Beat It" video, the story is set in one evening almost entirely within the confines of a trendy downtown Manhattan restaurant in the trendy TriBeCa neighborhood. Giraldi succeeds in developing and maintaining a sense of combustible energy when it comes to an upscale restaurant's inner workings. He should know since he is part-owner of several such restaurants of which the one featured, Gigino Trattoria, is one. By comparison, the film feels less assured when it comes to the cross currents of its multiple dramatic elements.Although the movie has an omnibus feel about it, the plot primarily focuses on the inevitable conflicts between Louis, the old-school owner and Udo, his ambitious, hotshot chef son. It helps that Danny Aiello plays Louis in such an economical fashion as he can make his character's melodramatic situation convincing - quitting a bookmaking side-business that got his partner killed and handing over the reigns of the eatery to his son. Screenwriters Rick Shaughnessy and Brian Kalata have crafted a tight script, though there is a cursory feel to the film that gives us a Robert Altman-like hodgepodge of eccentric characters. Their lives are shuffled between courses with some odd casting choices that somehow work, for example, Sandra Bernhard as a harpy food critic in a bad wig and John Corbett as a deceptively casual bar regular.Edoardo Ballerini is not particularly interesting as Udo, but Kirk Acevedo provides jumpy energy to Duncan, the sous-chef whose gambling debt has a domino effect on the rest of the characters. The mob angle is played up with stock characters embodied by Mike McGlone and Alex Corrado as two obvious hoods, and there is even a pretentious dinner party headed by a pompous art gallery owner portrayed with obnoxious languor by Mark Margolis. However, it is the hustle of the food preparation in the kitchen when the film really takes off, in particular, when Udo creates a sensational-looking, customized lobster tower for Bernhard's character. It's surprising that Giraldi has not made more films, but at least he sticks with his obvious passion and comes up with an often-interesting dish that I have to believe Anthony Bourdain would love.

SmoothGrooves I found this gem in the bargain bin at Wal Mart. How it got there, I don't know. The film stars Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing), Mike McGlone (The Brothers McMullen) and John Corbett (Sex and the City). Set in the fast paced New York Italian restaurant "Gigino", we follow a restaurant owner (Aiello) and his son, the head chef, on a busy Friday night. The film is comprised of witty banter from different tables in the restaurant, following a uptight art critic, a mafiosi from Queens, a food critic and a real mystery man in Corbett's character. The staff has to deal with a power outage, whiny tables and a line chef who is into a bookie 35 grand. The film carries itself with panache every second, and no matter how often I see this picture, be it on DVD or on IFC, I just can't get enough. Check it out!