This is definitely one of my top ten movies ever!Ten years after a band of friends lost contact (not all of them), and one of them has become a TV celebrity, they all meet again for a dinner which reveals all the hidden feelings they had.Directing, set, acting, music... everything is just brilliant and in place. But most of all, the dialogs are fantastic. They slowly reveal the personality of each character and they also uncover what happened ten years before between those friends, without narrating what happened (with only one slight exception). Everything is fluid and smooth, the characters seem extremely real with their history, their feelings (past and present), their hopes and their past disappointments.A must-see movie!

This was the first collaboration of the great writer-actor team of Agnes Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri; it was a huge success on the stage and paved the way for their second play-and-subsequent-film Un Air de famille after which they concentrated on writing directly for the screen (On Connait le chanson, Smoking/No Smoking, and Le Gout des autres and Comme une Image which Jaoui also, of course, directed. Cuisine is now available on DVD and very welcome it is. All the themes of the duo - the small group as microcosm, the flawed relationships, long-savoured resentments, etc - are in evidence from the first and if, like Francis Veber in another context, they keep making the same movies this is no problem because like Veber they keep ringing the changes and finding different ways to extract new wine from old bottles. Like Une air de famille the setting - in this case a kitchen - is one associated with food and only the relationships are different; the kitchen is in the home of a married couple, Zabou Breitman and Sam Karman, who have given a temporary roof to a friend, Jean-Pierre Bacri and have invited another friend - arguably we could call him The Man Who Didn't Come To Dinner as he remains off-camera - who, in the intervening decade since they saw him last has become a TV personality. Also on hand is Zabou's brother, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and HIS unseen girlfriend and finally Agnes Jaoui, the wife of a journalist. Between them these five explore the Human Condition in all its manifestations and contribute the kind of high quality acting we would expect given their respective track records. It's also interesting to note that three out of the five went on to direct films; apart from Jaoui herself Zabou wrote, directed and appeared in the brilliant Se Souvenirs des belles choses and Sam Karman weighed in with Un Petite semaine. This is one to relish.

The adaptation of plays for the screen goes right for the French cinema as the enormous success of "le diner de cons" (1998) and "8 femmes" (2002) testified. It is not this first movie from the pair Jaoui/Bacri that will prove the contrary. Based on a very successful play written by the quoted couple, there are at least 3 good reasons not to miss this excellent comedy of manners.First, Agnès Jaoui, the director took more liberty in comparison with the play to diversify the place of the action. This, in order to avoid filmed stage production. A major part of the movie takes place in the kitchen but Jaoui preferred to take her camera in other rooms like the corridors or children's bedroom.Secondly, the director just hired a handful of actors. But with actors like Jean Pierre Bacri or Jean Pierre Darroussin (who won an Oscar in France in 1994 for his performance), you are nearly sure to have a really good time. Trust me.Thirdly, brilliant dialogs which reveal the tandem Bacri/Jaoui's big talent give the movie a strong appeal. As soon as we are in the kitchen and from the first cues, you can feel that this party is bound to fail. It begins with nearly trite complaints: "the guests are late" or "the dishes are too salted" but the scriptwriters go further and use their dialogs as a way to unmask their characters. Gradually, tension grows, arguments break out, what is left unsaid prevails and you guess wasted lives, hidden dark secrets or poor existences. In the end, the spoiled party, the rancors are mainly brought on by the most important character of the play: a childhood friend who has become a host TV. you hear about him all night long but we never see him.With these three assets, it would be out-of-place to reject this delightful comedy. Let's regret just one detail: the scenery of the kitchen seems extracted from a sitcom due to gaudy colors. It is however the seminal place of the plot. Fortunately, the power of words and the actors' game are strong enough to forget this shortcoming.

Almost was said by yamaelle, but I didn't like this movie, and I'll say why, this will answer, at least partly to the question 'why is this movie so low-rated ?'... the whole action is in a kitchen. OK, making a movie is a good way to promote an play, but is not enough. The reference adaptation of a french play is "le père noel". This is a postulat, but seems realistic. Here we have some people coming and going in the kitchen, as JP Bacri is the main character, as he is the one who stays the longer. But alas, he is misanthropic, depressing and asocial, so there is no rythm. The dynamic ones, Sam and Martine just make appearances. And the wondrous JP Darroussin and Agnès Jaoui have a supporting play. this is not enough. Le père Noel uses different stages ( the elevator, the drugstore, the café) for adding to the scene play, not this one. I found it fun once, because of JP Darroussin and JP Bacri, but I got bored very quickly ( Sorry for my bad english). Well. It was no fun for me, and I gave it a 4. Both JP Darroussin and JP Bacri are better in other comedies (le goût des autres,un air de famille, and above all mes meilleurs copains) Well. for me it is worth for fans of french play adaptations, but one can skip this one and seek for "mes meilleurs copains" or "un air de famille" instead