Mjeteconer Just perfect...

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

nabor7 I particularly enjoyed this movie although I felt the audience was forced to endure the politically correct themes of the day. I was beginning to wonder how many dysfunctional acts could be shown in one movie. The acting was superb with Mercedes Ruehl taking top honors. The lesbian couple was one of the acts of pandering and could have been more realistically replaced by something more pertinent to a Jewish family. As the movie progressed I was able to look past the blatant pandering and look at what I thought was the basis of the plot. It never occurred to me that this was an attempt to show the multicultural diversity in one city or our country. Instead, I thought it was a good look at human nature in general, regardless of culture. Somewhere between Martha Stewart and Norman Rockwell we have developed an idea of what the perfect Thanksgiving and Christmas should be. We take this perception and then create it in accordance to our own specific culture. We think that certain foods are required and everyone will get along. As we all know the perfect Thanksgiving is only an idealistic goal very seldom achieved. Thirty minutes into the movie I was depressed because I have been through similar holidays. Maybe not with the same circumstances but nonetheless marred by burnt food, family arguments, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend any newlywed couple planning to host a holiday dinner for their combined families to watch. What I basically got from this movie was a reinforcement of real life holidays, relax, do what you can to make it a success, but most importantly, enjoy the fellowship of the family without the drive for perfection

george.schmidt WHAT'S COOKING? (2000) ***1/2 Mercedes Ruehl, Joan Chen, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, Julianna Marguilies, Dennis Haysbert, Maury Chaykin, Lainie Kazan, Victor Rivers, Douglas Spain, A Martinez, Francois Chau, Will Yun Lee, Estelle Harris, Ralph Manza. Wonderful sleeper depicting four Los Angeles melting pot families all celebrating Thanksgiving, cross cutting between homes sharing the universal theme of family, love and ultimately acceptance of one another. Funny, emotional, intelligent and superbly acted with an equally impressive script by Gurinder Chadha (who directed) and Paul Mayeda Berges her real-life companion. Stand out performances especially by Ruehl, Chen & Woodard as strong-willed matriarchs and Sedgwick and Marguilies as one of the sexiest onscreen lesbian couples in some time. Kudos to the off-screen cooks who whip up some truly mouth-watering displays in uniquely different yet delicious dinners for the quartet broods.

storybandit What's Cooking is a wonderful look at four very different Thanksgivings. All four families: 1) live in LA, 2) have issues that come out (in a very messy way) over the dinner table, and 3) have problems making/serving/eating the food being served.It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it tickled my thought processes because there are some things about family gatherings that just seem to be the same everywhere.

Daisy-45 You know i usually like to see a film at least twice before i say anything about it...i love the way you take something different out of it every time. This time...theres no need...but i WILL be off to see this one again if not again :) I admit i knew little of What's Cooking and to be honest i like it that way. Going into a film with no pre-conceptions. I guess i expected a fairly average 'done before' story line and boring underdeveloped characters. Well...scene one...i was sold..this movie is fantastic.I love the way that What's Cooking draws on a somewhat universal experience- in Thanksgiving, while at the same time highlighting that this one day is so very different for people. It chose to show this difference across a spectrum of cultral backgrounds: The Asian family struggling with tradition, the Hispanic family dealing with a family breakdown; the African-American family facing infidelity and rebellion and the Jewish family struggling with conformity. Strangely through such different stories it was plain to draw something from each one and relate back to your own experiences. This i think was one of the strongest points of this movie....it deals with something that most people are familiar with. Holidays with family that we love to hate and hate to love! The holidays that we can't wait to end but then can't wait for them to come around again. Even in the music score this was reflected (listen for the 'same but different' tune!)differently by all but still in many ways the same.The characters were perfect..you felt you knew them- again i think it comes down to relating back to your own experiences... You could take something from each one. I think that he cast was brilliant. I couldn't single out a single performance..this one was a team effort that paid off in a big way. Of the whole movie i would pick maybe one scene that seemed 'off'. The revelation at the Jewish table seemed to be played a little out of context of the characters. It just didn't seem right i guess but other than that i loved everything about this flick! i loved the movie, i loved that it wasn't predictable, i loved the music, the feel, the atmosphere, humour and warmth. It's not very often that you go to a movie and sit for the whole time with a smile on your face and if it wasnt that in this one it was an equally moving emotion. The best way to sum up this cleverly structured peoples piece is that it is incredibly warm. I had tears in my eyes for practically the whle film from laughter, fear, anticipation, sadness or a little bit of everything all at once! That in itself signifies the imense depth this film created from its inocent simplicity of just looking at life and people at their best and worst! I liken it in many ways to 'Playing By Heart' in its structure and insight into everyday people issues, but this film was far better in its reach to the audience and more powerful and sublte in its storyline. One of the best i've seen