"KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL: THE COMPLETE SERIES"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Bradley Cooper as JACK BOURDAIN Owain Yeoman as STEVEN DAEDELUS Nicholas Brendon as SETH RICHMAN John Francis Daley as JIM Jaime King as TANYA Bonnie Somerville as MIMI John Cho as TEDDY WONG Not Rated Studio: FOX Television Created by: David Hemingson Back to DVD Review Home |  |
I’ll be honest. I let “Kitchen Confidential” slide in my DVD queue. And this might be the very reason why the show never quite took off from a viewership angle.
When I got the “Kitchen Confidential” DVD, I thought it was that reality show on cable. I didn’t realize that it was an actual scripted series. But even if I had known it was a multi-camera dramady rather than an “American Idol” for chefs, I can’t say I would have rushed to pop it in the DVD player. (I know this rather pathetic of me, but I’ve got a lot of DVDs to watch and I don’t have time to keep up with all series on television.)
Let’s face it – if you don’t work in the high-pressure world of New York restaurants, you probably don’t realize that it would make a great show. Sure, we all realize that doctors, lawyers and police officers make great subjects for television shows. But who can name the “Hill Street Blues” of the kitchen from yesteryear.
This may have been what killed the show, because it certainly wasn’t the writing, directing, producing or acting. In fact, like other failed multi-camera dramadies of late (like “Arrested Development”), what might have killed it was the apparent inability for the general public to swallow a concept outside of “Friends” or “e.r.”
“Kitchen Confidential” is based on a book about chefs. It follows a brilliant chef name Jack Bordaine (Bradley Cooper) who has thrown away much of his professional life on booze and women. He gets his last chance to run his own kitchen, but he’s got to keep things clean and sober. Jack assembles a kitchen staff of crazy characters, and they must deal with the high pressures and temptations of the job.
Sure, it’s not the show pitch that network executives dream of. But it makes a great show, even though I would have never expected it to. Bradley Cooper as Jack provides the glue that holds the cast together. Of course, the other characters are more extreme, wild and funny than he is, but his purpose is to be the straight man, so to speak.
Ultimately, it’s the cast that provides the solid foundation for the show. It’s one of those odd instances where I can say there isn’t a weak link the whole chain. The writing balances the different storylines from the various characters expertly. Everyone gets a chance to shine in the show’s relatively short 13-episode run (of which only about four were ever aired, unfortunately).
With a cast like this – and a writing team that’s assembled to fill out the show, it’s clear why shows like these can be go good. It doesn’t matter whether the action takes place in an emergency room, a police station or a gourmet kitchen. That’s just the backdrop for the characters, and their antics transcend the setting.
Still, this show failed to hook the public, and it was canceled – which is a travesty considering dreadful series like “Desperate Housewives” are allowed to continue breathing their raspy, dying breaths. When the season finally wound down to an end, I was sad to see it go. Like a plate of cuisine from a gourmet restaurant, the portion size was way too small, not filling enough but extremely tasty.
“Kitchen Confidential” comes in a two-disc set, featuring all the episodes from the first and only season – the majority of which never even hit the airwaves. There’s also commentary tracks on selected special episodes as well as several behind-the-scenes featurettes and a brief reunion of the cast.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo Sound. Widescreen (1.78:1). Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
