Dinner Rush (2000)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Bob Giraldi

Writers (WGA):

Rick Shaughnessy (written by) &
Brian S. Kalata (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Plot:

Is it just another evening at the hugely popular Italian restaurant of proprietor and bookmaker Louis Cropa in New York...

Plot Keywords:

Food | Restaurant | Detective | Critic | Gangster

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Danny Aiello	...	Louis Cropa
John Rothman	...	Gary Lieberman
Frank Bongiorno	...	Enrico Coventie
Lexie Sperduto	...	Lucy Clemente
Zainab Jah	...	Adrian
Alex Corrado	...	Paolo
Mike McGlone	...	Carmen
Walt MacPherson	...	Detective Drury
Polly Draper	...	Natalie Clemente
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Chef Udo Cropa
Vivian Wu	...	Nicole Chan
Manny Perez	...	Gabriel
Ajay Naidu	...	Ademir the Matre'd
Andre Haynes Richarson	...	Machine (as Andre Richardson Haynes)
Summer Phoenix	...	Marti Wellington

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38347)

Filming Locations:

Gigino Trattoria - 323 Greenwich Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Access Motion Picture Group

Trivia:

Was filmed in only 21 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: As soon as the lights come back on in the restaurant, the bartender is seen yanking his flashlight off his wrist. A few seconds later in a close-up, he is seen taking it off again and setting it behind the bar.

Quotes:

Louis Cropa: You know they say revenge is a dish best eaten cold.
Gary Lieberman: Served.
Louis Cropa: What?
Gary Lieberman: Yes sir. Served cold.

Soundtrack:

Menina d'Agua

Delicious Slice of One Night of NY Restaurant Life

"Dinner Rush" will inevitably be compared to "Big Night," and other food preparation/restaurant movies, but I think it holds its own as a delicious slice of one night of New York life. As one character plotzes: "When did eating out become theater?"

The wonderful, winsome multi-ethnic ensemble of mostly New York actors --many born in Brooklyn according to the IMDb--who have done a lot of TV work are clearly enjoying making a movie as a coordinated team. Danny Aiello has his best, and somewhat similar, role since "City Hall."

Many of the references may go over the heads of those West of the Hudson or East of the East River, whether to Tribeca (as a newly trendy neighborhood) or Danny Meyer (restaurant entrepreneur). Or even the digs at Queens as the home of mobsters, which were greeted by silence by the Queens audience I saw it with.

The upstairs/downstairs of the kitchen scrambles vs. the dining pleasures and everyone's personal spices are lots of fun. The actors playing obnoxious customers, like Sandra Bernhard, do so with relish but not overplayed.

Keep your palate clear by not looking at the ad campaign or reading the reviews, as I think they give the plot away and I was totally surprised by the ending, er, the dessert.

(originally written 9/29/2001)