I Have Reservations About 'Tony'
Remember that person when they were young? Here’s a movie about them before they were famous. The idea is morbidly played to death with this trend of biopics. I admired Anthony Bourdain. The Anthony Bourdain portrayed by Dominic Sessa in this film, I don’t. The picture would have worked if the movie didn’t market who it was about from the get-go. But it’s understandable. A24 needs to make their money too. Bourdain in Tony is kind of a sleezebag who ends up redeeming himself by a matter of unearned luck. There are little parts that work in the picture, but overall this movie is undercooked.
The film is a shame because it has a fantastic director behind it. Matt Johnson might not be a household name, but his work is subversive, funny, and intelligent. Unfortunately, this movie is conventional and dull. No humor sticks out. Other than the “black doesn’t mean burnt” joke about cooking a fish. That’s not to say the movie is all bad. Some key elements work. For kitchen life, Matt Johnson captures the madness that’s involved in working in one. Unfortunately, The Bear beat it to the punch. Even without it, at least the main character in that show is a sympathetic person who’s dealing with trauma.
In contrast, the main character in this movie is your typical kid not learning the dangers of alcoholism and wanting to break free from their parent’s cocoon. He acts like a jerk. At one point, he accidentally does something catastrophic, then insults the person he was trying to apologize to moments later. The point is to show how moments where we try to seek reconciliation can fail. But then, was Tony really sorry? Was he later? A character like this I wouldn’t root for, and even if that’s the point, it doesn’t seem to be the best way to commemorate someone who died seven years ago. There certainly was an underlying darkness intertwined with optimism in Bourdain’s words on his show, which is also in his literature that this movie captures. Still, what really was hurting Bourdain that other people couldn’t understand is where the movie drops the plates.
The ideas of the picture are half-baked. Tony is a young kid who lives with his parents. He’s hoping to be accepted into a prestigious fellowship but is denied. This is especially devastating because Bourain is trapped. His father is supportive, while his mother is strict. The parents don’t stop nagging at each other, which sounds like nails on a chalkboard for any kid at a certain point. On a whim, Tony decides to venture out to Provincetown so he can chase after a girl, in other words. Be a stalker. Despite using these conventions, Matt Johnson does turn in a different direction. Yet unfortunately, the story arrives at the same predictable destination. When Chef (Antonio Banderas) shows up, we know how the relationship will play out.
Thankfully, the acting between Sessa and Banderas is good enough to hold interest. Although Anthony Bourdain isn’t likable in this movie, it’s not Dominic Sessa’s fault. He’s doing exactly what the script is asking him to do. He’s supposed to be angsty, yet intelligent. Sessa brings an element of smarts to the character that’s unspoken. There’s a dominance in Dominic despite his lanky stature that’s unique.
While Antonio Banderas is a man who will never be beyond his beauty days to me, for a general audience he’s a sixty-five-year-old man who can play the aging soul very well. Chef is frustrated with life, and it comes out in the kitchen. Yet, he has an incredible solace to him in the most dire circumstances. He’s a drill sergeant and a zen master. Banderes captures this element well, and has many times before. Together, the two play effectively on screen. If Tony were a more likable guy instead of a brat, then perhaps their relationship would have excelled on screen.
In multiple instances, Bourdain exemplifies poor behavior that is hard to overlook. Understandably, that’s what happens when you drink. You make bad choices, promise you won’t do it again, then repeat the cycle. But why does Tony keep repeating that cycle? What drives him to the bottle other than being a confused kid in college? How did he not grow out of that? If you’ve seen No Reservations, then you know that Anthony liked to drink. Unfortunately, that drink led to suicide. We don’t need to see Tony’s demise or make a movie about it, but we need more than what this picture gives us to understand what led to Bourdain’s tragic end. Many can argue that this picture is a celebration of Anthony Bourdain’s life, but there’s something Matt Johnson is trying to say about his pain that isn’t coming across.
Tony has a limited release on August 7 and a wide expansion on August 21
