Chefs are kind of having a moment in Hollywood right now. Name one person who hasn’t, after watching the first season of Hulu’s The Bear, enthusiastically—and maybe even a little suggestively—uttered the phrase, “Yes, Chef,” while looking at a picture of a slightly disheveled looking Jeremy Allen White in a form fitting t-shirt and ratty blue apron. And then there’s 2022’s psychological black comedy The Menu in which a group of dinner guests slowly realize that their good fortune of getting to dine at a high-profile restaurant is not exactly as lucky as it seems. The film, directed by Mark Mylod, was generally celebrated, and people were certainly buzzing over its vengeful turn of events. Now, with the release of What You Wish For, there is another deviously delicious menu for movie goers to chew on. However, in comparison to The Menu, What You Wish For is a long way away from receiving any Michelin stars.
Directed by Nicholas Tomnay, What You Wish For throws us into the life of Ryan (Nick Stahl), a talented chef who also has a major gambling problem. When he flies to Latin America to stay with his friend Jack (Brian Groh) who also happens to be a chef, albeit a successful one, Ryan is immediately enamored with his friend’s seemingly idyllic life cooking meals for wealthy people in exchange for enormous amounts of money. Jack assures Ryan that his lavish job and lifestyle is not at all what it seems on the surface, but when an unfortunate turn of events presents Ryan with the opportunity to take over for Jack as a chef for this mysterious company, he ignores his friend’s warnings and doesn’t hesitate to do so. Soon, he finds himself in an unimaginable situation that forces him to reckon with his own moral compass and idea of right and wrong.
Tomnay’s film shares a lot of DNA with moves like The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Menu. Ryan willingly begins to impersonate and take on the more enticing life of his best friend, only to realize it’s not quite what it was cooked up to be. But there is also a touch of black comedy to What You Wish For that occasionally makes the film feel like it’s crossing into Yorgos Lanthimos territory à la The Lobster or Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness. But for all Tomnay’s efforts, the film never quite reaches that perfect homeostasis of uncomfortable and comedic for which those two films are well known. Instead, What You Wish For spins its wheels attempting to make big statements about the class divide and the worth of a human life, always coming up just short of a revelatory or jaw dropping surprise.
This is perhaps the most frustrating thing with the film simply because it structurally has the potential to really knock it out of the park. All the ingredients are there to make scathing social commentary by way of discomfort, comedy and a little bit of delicious gore, but Tomnay seems almost afraid to push things too far. The film plays it relatively safe, only dabbling in its own absurdity for brief periods of time, always pulling back just when things are about to get good. That’s not to say the film isn’t watchable—it is—but unlike its main character, it’s afraid to take risks, choosing instead to stick to the recipe, even when the recipe calls for just a little more salt and spice.
Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing
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