Seu Jorge

(On Cable TV, June 2022) Now here’s a delicious concoction of a movie – a small-scale family comedy in which food can unite the world… or at least warring in-laws. Abe’s zippy up-to-the-moment opening sets the tone, introducing our young protagonist through a flurry of social media posts: The young Abe, product of a union between Israeli and Palestinian parents, with consequential fun at the extended family dinner table. Our 12-year-old protagonist sees his native Brooklyn as a smorgasbord of culinary tradition, and his intent is to try it all… and then fuse what he likes into something new. This youth-oriented foodie family dramedy doesn’t quite meet the expectation it sets through its opening moments – but as Abe slows down, it still settles for an amiable experience that clearly works its way to a charming conclusion. Seu Jorge shows up as an older chef who takes our protagonist under his wing, but it’s Noah Schnapp who’s the anchor of the film through a summer that changes everything. (Or does it? He goes from gifted cook to even better cook.)  Abe probably could have been a bit better – funnier, mordant, or able to go beyond the evidence set by its opening moments. Still, it’s about as harmless as it comes – cute and easy, nothing more.