Dinner Rush (2000)

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!

(Some Spoilers) The film "Dinner Rush" comes across like a combination of the Food Channel's Guy Fieri "Diners Drive-ins & Dives" and the "Sopranos". We have successful Tribeca restaurateur Louis Carpo, Danney Aiello, being hassled by these two mobsters from Queens Carmen & Paolo, Mike McGlone & Alex Corrado, who are trying to muscle their way into Louis' five star Italian Restaurant "The Trattoria" which has been in the Carpo family for some three generations. These two murderous thugs go so far as offing in a mob hit Louis' good friend and partner in the "Trattoria" Enrico Coventie, Fran Borgiorno, just to show him that they mean business. The business that they want is to become part owners of the eatery even though they, despite stuffing their faces with fine Italian food and wines, know nothing at all about the restaurant business!The two mobster have an ace up their sleeves in getting Louis to go along with their efforts to get part, and later all, of his business by having his compulsive gambler son and second or #2 chef at the "Trattoria" Ducan, Kirk Acevedo, in their hip pockets for $13,000.00 in gambling debts. By Paolo & Carmen using Ducan's gambling as a way to get to Louis has them feel he'll pay them off in making them partners in his eating establishment. This all backfires on them with Louis taking the 13 grand out of the till and paying them off in order to get the two mobsters off his and Duncan's back.It's obvious right from the start that Poalo & Carmen only want to get hold of Louis' restaurant which is knocking them, the customers, dead with the mind boggling dishes put out by Louis' #1 son and top chef in the joint Udo, Edwardo Ballerini, a man who loves cooking his dishes as much as Paolo and Carmen love eating them. Running the kitchen like a hard as nails US Marine Drill Sergeant Udo won't tolerate the slightest infraction of the Culinary Code of Ethics! We see earlier in the movie Udo can one of his cooks on the spot in him dicing , a major violation of the Code, instead of chopping chives. Udo for his part feels that he's being short changed by his dad in not being made a partner in the restaurant, which both Paolo & Carmen want to be, even though his dad thinks that his dishes are just out of this world and are filling the place to capacity every night!***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Louis being the man of peace, and having superhuman self restraint, that he is was more then willing to give up his bookie operation to Paolo & Carmen in order to keep them out of his life and restaurant but when they hit his best friend Enrico and then shook down #2 son Duncon that's when they went too far much too far with him. And that's when Louis decided to pay them off big time using his beloved restaurant "The Trattoria" as a trap in luring those two rats to their deaths!Very probably the very best of the many Mafia restaurant mob hit-jobs movies that's a lot like the real hit on gangster Dutch "The Dutchman" Schultz back in October 1935 in a Newark New Jersey spaghetti joint. Louis Carpo at first tries to reason with the smug and arrogant Queens thugs who seemed to have greatly underestimated him in his non violent attitude towards them. All Louis wanted was to talk things over and come to some reasonable decision with Paolo and Carmen but the two thought that they had him boxed into a corner. They didn't realize that he set them up right from the start and in the process had them stuff themselves, like a last meal for a convict about to be executed, before he had the boom lowered on them!

This film crackles with authenticity. Danny Aiello is great in the lead role as the owner of this eatery, rushed off its feet in the evening rush after the day leading to it. He plays ironically opposite to his oft gangster roles. Well structured with an interesting mix of characters, showing their chemistry with each other, the boss, the son, the dish hands, the restaraunts patrons, and food critic, the lust, and the great character John Corbett plays.Dinner Rush is well worth a look. I am sure you won't be disappointed if you like films that simmer at a medium temperature so it becomes cooked nicely at the end with a good surprise in the end how it turned out.

I think this is one of the excellent films of independent cinema. I really like on how they mixed the pleasantness of cooking and the violence of killing people in the same place. the restaurant. The actors are great too.It made me wanna learn how to cook like that, but not kill like that...awesome movie. I can watch it over and over again. I never expected John Corbett's character to be like that towards the end....it was great, i loved it.It's like the food network meets sopranos. just picture it. Good food, being made, and getting wasted!