The Hundred Foot Journey is a story of food. An East Indian family opens an Indian cuisine restaurant directly across the road from a French cuisine restaurant in a small French town. Imagine what happens next…

Story: This is Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg’s baby. Not sure if this is their reaction to the success of Slumdog Millionaire or if they really do like East Indian culture, but, it’s a well told story with a complete arch from beginning to end.

I don’t feel like some piece of the story is missing or it cut off before the entire story is told. We know why the restaurants are there… We get to watch the special talent of the Indian son blossom into success and we get to see the happy ending.

Performances: Helen Mirren as Madam Mallory, the owner of the French restaurant is the typical French snob at first, but, thaws over the course of the movie. Om Puri as Papa, the head of the Indian family is the typical East Indian Father who’s stubborn personality also thaws over the course of the movie.

It’s only the special talent of his son Hassan – played by Manish Dayal – that actually creates a bond between the two elders; They see that their antics are insignificant to nurturing Hassan’s potential.

No Oscars here – type-casting is alive in this film. The performances only become more interesting in combination. Otherwise, as stated before, they remain average.

Visual: The French countryside is lovely. The restaurants are spot-on. Paris looks modern and romantic. But the food… the food is perfection. This is one of those films where the food is presented as works of art and functions as one of the stars.

Good costumes aside, this film will make you want to have an evening out at a fine dining establishment.

Rating: C+. This is a feel-good film that reaches neither highs nor lows. As my friend John says, it’s fair to midland.

I had a good time watching this film… it’s always nice to just have two hours of good entertainment. This is it. See it when its good for you, but, it is worth seeing.