A Good Year

Who, I ask, could not use a vacation in March? The gray skies. The cold wind. The wrinkled root vegetables that are all starting to taste the same. If a plane ticket to Europe is out of your reach, may I suggest adding A Good Year to your Netflix account? Set in the vineyards of Provence, it is a perfect two-hour vacation that will make you crave the finer things in life, like wine and cheese and leisurely meals eaten outdoors. Sure, it’s a little corny and predictable, but it was one of the only movies I’ve seen in the last six months that caused drool to run down my chin while I watched it (this also happened when I re-watched Beautiful Girls the other night and saw Timothy Hutton, but for an entirely different reason.)

While watching the many beauiful vineyard scenes in A Good Year I think I actually reached towards the screen trying to grab food and a glass of wine out of Russell Crowe’s hand. But you can watch it at home with a spread of food and wine in front of you, which is the only proper way to watch this movie. Usually I have a hard time with culinary-themed movies, mainly because Hollywood has such a hard time getting chefs right (anyone see Spanglish? I know critics had much deeper complaints, but personally I just couldn’t believe Adam Sandler’s character was a chef.) A new film coming out in July, No Reservations, will star Catherine Zeta-Jones as a chef and I don’t know if I’m buyin’ that casting choice either. But Russell Crow as an egotistical asshole who spends his days slugging back wine? Now, that I believe. So open a bottle wine, set out a plate of food, put in the movie, and go on that much needed vacation. If anyone else has some favorite food films, let us know!