Tony

Just perfect. I feel patriotic, as a new englander, for possibly the first time. Matt Johnson perfectly encapsulates the magic and candidness of Provincetown in a way that made me feel guilty for blinking at any part. The candidness is not only in the acting, but also the shots, coloring, script, pacing, etc. It felt like I was in that kitchen, honest to God. And despite its feel-good, formulaic nature, the film is also incredibly unique in its own regard. Typically— biopics depict a silhouette of a character’s childhood, before focusing on an extremely stylized and telegenic version of their adulthood— maybe throwing in a few famous moments and quotes throughout— but most importantly make the sacrifice of summarizing a persons life into 2 hours. Tony chooses to focus on the least known and possibly least cared about stage of Bourdain’s life— in which he is quite literally nobody. We know there could be no version of Anthony Bourdain’s story without ignoring the integral years of his life spent as Tony (on a separate note, I think any attempt to abridge Bourdain’s complicated and elusive story into something palatable is pointless and also distasteful). There was arrogance and anger and cocaine and plenty of lessons he still had to learn at the end of the movie. The average biopic would scoff at an account as seemingly inconsequential as this, but I find it’s brevity refreshing compared to life stories that use glamour or pandering to embellish an otherwise boring life. This story shouldn’t be hidden in pursuit of a less sincere and undoubtedly awful movie. I was left wanting more. This felt very real and very valuable and mostly heartwarming. Jesus fucking Christ I love Tony!