“I was- to be frank- a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good a**-kicking.” – Anthony Bourdain from Kitchen Confidential 

Tony is a biographical comedy written and directed by Matt Johnson (Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Blackberry and The Dirties) that is also an adaptation of a few early chapters in Anthony Bourdain’s cooking “exposé” Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. The film follows a young Tony (Dominic Sessa) as he fails to nab a writing fellowship that he was arrogantly sure he would get. And after learning his crush, Nancy (Emilia Jones), is going to Provincetown, Massachusetts, he gets on the first bus from New Jersey to Provincetown. After making a few bad mistakes and has literally no means to get back home, the only way to get by is by working as a dishwasher in fast food, sit down seafood restaurant under a strict, mysterious chef and a number of other loudmouth personalities that clash and get up to all kinds of trouble together, Tony begins to understand that there is more to life than just his writing.

I think this film came at the right time in my life. I was planning to do a double feature that day. This and The End of Oak Street. But it turns out, I was literally broke. I bought a ticket to this with the last scrap of change I had in my bank account. I was absolutely terrified. Thankfully, I still live with parents so I’m not going to be homeless, but having no money whatsoever is frightening and is all on me. And the film started playing and Tony was in a similar situation and the film rolled on. It felt like a beacon of hope, in a way. As I am writing this, the next morning, more things about the film have settled in and turns out, I got a check. It wasn’t a whole lot, but it was better than being broke. Like Tony, I have to get my act together. He didn’t stay lost in his own identity of bullcrapping everyone he meets, he actually started to make something of himself. I think I’ll do the same.

Another fun fact about me is that I read the book this film is adapting and there are a definite number of changes, but that’s because Matt Johnson wants to focus on a different story, honing on something that is outside his comfort zone. Seeing the trailer, it was already something that seemed like it was out of Johnson’s comfort zone. It wasn’t on a handheld camera with his usual chaotic mockumentary style and Johnson himself was nowhere to be seen. Michael Bauman handles the cinematography to give it a more traditional film look, but there was still bits and pieces of what people love about Johnson’s films in his writing. The dialogue very much sounded like something out of a Johnson film without Johnson being the one to speak any of the lines. Johnson isn’t interested in making a direct adaptation of the source material or your standard “cradle to grave” biopic for Anthony Bourdain, he’s looking for something a little more intimate. He wants to make a good movie first and foremost, rather than something that feels standard. This is not a normal biopic where it will glorify its protagonist by giving them little faults or making their arc something that we’ve seen time and time again. Johnson seems to be interested in something else entirely in this being a coming-of-age film. He has to make changes to make the material work for him. I know that’s going to make some folks slam on the brakes reading it, but I think that works for Matt Johnson. He still maintains what we know about a young Bourdain. He liked to BS his way through life, loved being a writer and needed a lot of humbling when he got to Provincetown. And there are still moments from the book that make it into the film like when Bourdain tries to handle a hot pan for the first time and the bride having sex with one of the cooks, but the film isn’t about cooking. It’s about one of Bourdain’s core struggles at that time and that was trying to find out who he was. We watch an arrogant, compulsive liar get the reality check he has so desperately been needing. But there is something that bridges the gap between Johnson’s sensibilities and Bourdain’s ambitions: their shared love of creating.

Both obviously love being writers, but their fields are vastly different. Bourdain was much more involved in the kitchen while Johnson falls in line with stuff showing on the silver screen. But their desires to create fall right in the middle of the same venn diagram. Being a cook is like being a writer or filmmaker, you don’t usually cook for yourself. It’s a service to give to other people to consume and enjoy. So it makes sense that Bourdain likes to write as well. Cooks, writers and filmmakers get to see the fruits of their labor (for cooks, this can mean literally) through satisfied and happy customers. But there is also the possibility that they get to inspire others to join them and they’re also influenced by the people that inspired them to do what they did. It’s a beautiful thing and it’s nice to see a character fall in love with something that finally gives them purpose. To do something that acts as a service rather than something that is self-serving.

As I stated previously, this is not your standard biopic. You have a pretty unlikable protagonist who constantly gets his comeuppance and his arc is nice to see. I think the soundtrack is done very well and Jay McCarroll also handles the score as well. With that being said, you can feel its influence and that comes with the film’s warm nature. A sincerity that only Matt Johnson can bring out. This is seen in its countless montages of Tony having fun with his new friends or the quieter moments where characters sit with each other with little to no dialogue. Johnson trusts his actors and understands his characters very well. There’s also no boring, glossy look to the film that has seemingly come with a lot of biopics as of late. Bauman’s cinematography continues to bring out that warmth.

I also think the acting is quite good. Emilia Jones (Nancy) is very good as expected and the same can be said for a lot of the cast. Antonio Banderas (Chef) does some really nice work, but he gets to shine in the moments where he clearly wants to say more than his character is letting on. Leo Woodall (Sal) is having a great year with both this and Tuner. He steals the show as this erratic and dangerously captivating character. Dominic Sessa (Tony) does a great job. Like he owns the screen and seeing him come into his own as the man we know as Anthony Bourdain is really great to see.

Matt Johnson cannot make anything less than “great” in my eyes. The film is still funny, though, not as funny as one would expect with Johnson. It is not going to be what you expect and that’s a special part of it. It is theaters now. Check it out before it leaves.

RATING: 4.25/5