Made (2001)
Directed by Jon Favreau
Two aspiring boxers and lifelong friends get involved in a money-laundering scheme through a low-level organized crime group.
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What critics compared Made to
Indeed, it could be that, not unlike his maybe-autobiographical protagonist, the writer-director-star wanted to get back to his own roots, and try something as simple and shaggy-dog-story-like as “Swingers” (which he wrote, and starred in, for director Doug Liman) and the underrated “Made.”
Favreau -- who went from small films like Swingers and Made to large films like Iron Man and Cowboys and Aliens , and yes, filmmaking-to-food parallels will be served up hot, if not fresh, during the film -- is Carl Casper, a L.A. chef whose kitchen is spotless and whose life is a mess.
Favreau has always been a cool, amiable presence, all the way back to “Swingers” (1996) and his mini-gem feature directorial debut, “Made” (2001).
Like Sam Raimi with Drag Me to Hell, Chef represents a mega director (in this case Iron Man‘s Jon Favreau) returning to the flavour of his early work (in this case, Swingers and Made) to rejuvenate his storytelling juices.
Jon Favreau started off his filmmaking career with such cult indie titles as Swingers and Made, before he progressed onto making such popular mainstream offerings as Elf and Iron Man.
This is the third feature film written and directed by Jon Favreau, who vaulted to fame with "Swingers" (1996) and followed that with "Made" (2001), another superior comedy.
The same fate befalls Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Scorpion King," "The Planet of the Apes") as the hulking Kingpin, while Jon Favreau ("Made," "The Replacements") and Joe Pantoliano ("Memento," TV's "The Sopranos") don't get much of an opportunity to do much with their characters (although the former is occasionally decent in his comic relief parts).
Playing Murdock's lifelong friend and partner Foggy, Favreau 's ( Made ) role here is the most low-key of the bunch but he delivers some comic relief with some really funny lines.
A bullet and a key come into play later, after Adam finds, and decides to spare Laurence from, a photo of Alison Gordon (Monica Potter, "Along Came a Spider") and daughter Diana (Makenzie Vega, "Made") bound and gagged.
Despite his indie bona fides -- Favreau wrote and starred in the classic Swingers , and wrote/directed Made , another comic vehicle for him and his pal Vince Vaughn -- Favreau took to the mainstream at his earliest convenience, with family-centered films such as Elf and Zathura: A Space Adventure .
As a director, Favreau has improved immeasurably over his debut outing, Made, with the filmmaker's reliance on jerky camerawork there more of an annoyance than anything else.
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In case we miss the point, the director, Jon Favreau, the actor/director of Elf and Made , introduces us to Stark's glass of scotch before we even see the actor's face.
This is also the biggest movie of director Jon Favreau's life following "Made," "Elf" and "Zathura," and he juggles all the complicated, expensive toys deftly.
Still, actor-director Jon Favreau ( Elf, Made, Fred Claus and Swingers, which he wrote) orchestrates the film's roster of action sequences with the required degree of visual dazzle while also allowing his actors some grace time to improvise their way to the nearest plot point.
Since that handful includes Made , Elf and Zathura , it's an open question whether that association helps or harms Favreau's reputation.
Comedies were one thing with Made and Elf , but it was Zathura that, despite slow box office, proved a blockbuster of the magnitude of Iron Man was within the former Swinger's range.