Review: The Menu Is Another Movie Mocking Wealthy People

In this film, it's mean and funny enough to work.

The Menu is a delightfully twisted horror-comedy served up with equal helpings of nihilism and sadistic scorn for status-obsessed foodies.

In the movie, a star chef and his cultlike staff subject their rich patrons to an elaborate series of mind games and physical torture over the course of an exclusive dinner at an isolated island restaurant.

The film's heavy-handed message about the hollow faux sophistication of the wealthy isn't particularly groundbreaking. But The Menu stays mean and funny enough to make it work. Unlike its characters, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously.

Early in the film, we're told the island restaurant only serves what can be grown or raised on site. Right away, we should know the people who eat there are more interested in gimmicks and status than taste. A restaurant interested in providing quality food at a reasonable price would never cut itself off from the flavor-enhancing benefits of the global food trade.