Lizzy Donker
Junior Editor
Things I felt after watching The Menu: confused, scared, and hungry. The Menu came out this past November and takes dark comedy to another level. The entire time I was watching it, I remember thinking, “Am I really supposed to be laughing right now? This feels kind of wrong.” The premise of the movie is that a young couple, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), visit a luxurious destination restaurant for an evening. All of the guests arrive on the exclusive island, and are met with an interesting team of chefs. After getting the tour of the island, they go to the restaurant, where they are presented with the lavish “menu” by the head chef, played by Ralph Fiennes. And, when I tell you, this guy is intense…we’re talking Patrick Bateman but even more of a workaholic. Essentially, his “menu” consists of all of these lavishly far-reaching, thematic presentations that come with every course. His whole thing is, you don’t just eat, you “taste.”
At this point, we’re all thinking: okay, so this guy’s a little nutso and definitely obsessive, but we all know this is a scary movie, so when is someone going to die already? Then one of the employees shoots himself in the mouth and is taken away by the remainder of the staff, who seem unfazed. All of the guests now realize they are locked in the restaurant, and are forced to sit there and eat every one of the chef’s courses, which include but are not limited to, breadless bread plate and french fries. As the guests have to sit through each course and watch more and more horrific things occur in the restaurant, all of their dirty laundry is aired out and you realize that it’s basically all just a bunch of screwed up rich people, but you still don’t want them to die. It was actually a similar experience to watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Then aguy is sacrificed by being dramatically lowered into the ocean wearingangel wings and a strobe light. I still don’t understand that one.
At this point, our main girl, Margot, is realizing she needs to find a way to get the hell out of the restaurant. One would think she might accomplish this by some sort of an elaborate escape, but no. She literally just asks him for a cheeseburger and fries. The Head Chef then makes her this cheeseburger, with tears in his eyes, as Margot discovers that frying burgers in a crappy resturant was the one time he was actually happy. She asks if she can take the cheeseburger to go, and he gives her a to-go box and just lets her walk out. Once Margot has left, the final course is served. The guests are all covered in chocolate and marshmallows and graham crackers and lit on fire and burn to death.. It’s the most screwed up version of s’mores you will ever see.
The movie closes out with Anya Taylor-Joy sitting on a boat eating her cheeseburger watching as the entire restaurant burns down. Confused? So am I. I cannot tell after watching this movie if I loved it or if they just had really cool camera shots. I might have hated it. Surprisingly enough, I would still say that I think you should watch it if you get the opportunity. All I know is that I really want a cheeseburger.