What's Cooking?

The same Thanksgiving evening in Los Angeles, across four households: Vietnamese, Latino, Jewish and Black. Each has laid the same table and in each there is something nobody can say out loud; one is hiding an identity, one a separation, one who their child actually is. Gurinder Chadha builds it in the shape of a holiday comedy while the real subject is the distance between immigrant parents and a second generation. The four lines run in parallel and none is treated as more important than the others. The food functions as the film's language, with the same turkey becoming something different at every table. The cast is large and the parts are evenly weighted. Who it is for: viewers who like multicultural family comedy and ensemble storytelling. Who it is not for: anyone wanting one story taken deep, since all four stay near the surface.