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Eat with Me
- Director: David Au
- Writer: David Au
- Producer: David Au; Michelle Ehlen
CGiii Comment
It's one of those films where you can walk away for a good 30 minutes, come back and know exactly what's not been happening...as pedestrian and predictable as it gets.
A Chinese mother temporarily moves in with her gay son - and, all hell is not let loose. Quite the contrary...the downbeat, slow pace will have you battling against drooping eyelids.
The dialogue will have you slapping your forehead whilst muttering the word 'duh'...the sub-par performances match the writing 'talent' adequately.
George Takei's (two) appearances each last for less than a minute each - literally, two blinks and you'll miss him.
The contrived comic situations fail miserably to be comic - the mother on ecstasy, oh dear!
It's not the worst film in the world, it just needed a massive injection of imagination and creativity...and a director who understands the craft...rather than produce a film that is as pedestrian as it is formulaic.
It's like loitering through a humdrum town when everything is closed...in the rain.
Trailer...
Eat With Me Film Trailer from David Au on Vimeo.
The(ir) Blurb...
Emma only knows how to add spice to her life in one way... by squirting it from a bottle of hot sauce. The rest of her life is cushy but bland: scrambled egg whites, decaffeinated coffee and her husband, Ray. She's had enough and runs away from home. Her estranged son, Elliot, finds her lurking outside his restaurant with suitcase in hand. They try to start over again as mother and son in this odd-couple living situation. But she's old-fashioned. He's gay. Between them are years of awkward moments and unspoken tensions. Feeling lonely, Emma accidentally befriends the lady next door who's so eccentric that Emma's way over her head. Meanwhile, a passionate encounter with a man in a bar turns Elliot's fear of commitment on its head. With dumplings, dessert, whiskey, and even Ecstasy in front of them, will they give into their indulgences? And can mother and son reconcile while struggling to discover their own appetites for life?
Cast & Characters
Sharon Omi as Emma;
Teddy Chen Culver as Elliot;
Nicole Sullivan as Maureen;
George Takei as George;
Aidan Bristow as Ian;
Jamila Alina as Jenny;
Ken Narasaki as Ray;
Scott Keiji Takeda as James;
Burt Grinstead as Austin;
Sam Gibney as Band Lead Singer