Charlie, a spritely little girl, took a nasty dislike to Mr. Brody as "ma’am" and sagaciously parries her early attempts to get him to leave. He is resolutely deferential, referring to Ms. Church at the counter, all smiles, just so happy that little Charlie enjoys his work. When Charlie returns from school, there are tall icebox cakes awaiting her and Mr. He makes things like fluffy pancakes with fruit salad, grilled pork chops, and grits for breakfast. Church shows up at the Brody’s modest abode, turns the radio to jazz, and dons an apron for this nice white family. Church has been given as a gift, so to speak, by the late lover of Marie Brody (Natascha McElhone, at her saintliest) to cook for her and her child, Charlotte "Charlie" Brody, until Marie passes away from terminal cancer.Īt the behest of the late lover, for whom Mr. It’s a rhythm well-known to generations of Black cooks for whom institutional racism had made most other modes of employ unattainable. (In fact, the film’s original title, when it was written by McMartin 10 years ago, was Cook. Church, as he is called, is a domestic cook, which makes the film fair game for this column. The titular character - Henry Joseph Church - is played by Eddie Murphy in what has been billed as his triumphal dramatic turn. The sentiment is, in itself, problematic, but no less problematic than the 104 minutes of pablum sandwiched between it.Ī précis before we proceed: The film, written by Susan McMartin and directed by Bruce Beresford ( Driving Miss Daisy) is set in Los Angeles and spans the 1970s to the late '80s. Church, makes up both the opening and closing words of the film. He chose to cook." This line, spoken by Charlotte Brody, narrator of and character in the new melodrama Mr. "Henry Joseph Church could have been anything he wanted. Do you like food? Do you like movies? Do you like movies about food? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you might enjoy Eater at the Movies, a column by Joshua David Stein.
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