Biography
Drama
Review: ‘Tony’ Offers Up a Smorgasbord from Anthony Bourdain’s Teenage Years, Making it the Culinary Equivalent of a Superhero Origin Story
August 11, 2026Ben MK
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Best known for television shows like No Reservations and Parts Unknown, in which he combined his love for travel with his love for food, Anthony Bourdain was an icon of the culinary world. And with his untimely passing in 2018 at the age of 61, it was only a matter of time before someone set out to make a movie about his life. Fast forward eight years, and that someone has turned out to be none other than Matt Johnson, of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie and BlackBerry fame. But does Tony live up to Bourdain's legacy by shedding light on the man, the myth and the legend? Or is it just the latest in a long line of flash-in-the-pan biopics that's more sizzle than substance? The year is 1975, and 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa), who prefers to go by Tony, is an aspiring writer who dreams of someday writing the next, great American novel. Eager to move out of his parents' suburban New Jersey home, Tony thinks he has it all figured out, beginning with a writing fellowship from Vassar College that he's all but certain he's a shoe-in for. However, when his hopes of landing the much-needed financial support are dashed and he's left without so much as a backup plan, Tony decides to pack up his bags for the summer and head to the seaside community of Provincetown, Massachusetts, to follow his high school crush, Nancy (Emilia Jones). A young woman very clearly out of his league, Nancy barely knows that Tony exists, let alone does she have any romantic interest in him. Still, that doesn't stop Tony from ditching his family, friends and career plans and heading off to a place where he's the one who's the fish out of water. Not soon after he arrives, though, Tony quickly realizes that he'll need more than just his sarcastic wit if he's to stay there for more than a couple of days. So, after a chance meeting with restaurant owner Ciro (Antonio Banderas), Tony manages to convince him to let him to not only work in his kitchen as a dishwasher, but to also stay at his beachside cabin. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement that seems to work out for both Tony and Ciro, with the former gaining an unexpected mentor and the latter gaining a diligent, new employee that he eventually comes to think of as something of a potential heir. However, in spite of how much he quickly becomes a valuable member of Ciro's kitchen crew, Tony can’t help but feel like a fake. A dishwasher and occasional oyster-shucker by day who spends some of his nights trying to convince Nancy that his only reason for working at Ciro's restaurant is to gather research for his new book, Tony even impresses himself with how far he's able to get with his little white lies. What he doesn't anticipate, though, is for all of this carefully crafted narrative to come crashing down, as it inevitably and disastrously does. Will Tony be able to end his summer in Provincetown on a high note and become someone who's a little older and a little wiser? Or will he remain the immature brat who leaves behind a trail of collateral damage, inadvertently hurting the people who care about him the most? Based loosely on select chapters from Bourdain's bestselling 2000 memoir, Kitchen Confidential, the resulting coming-of-age tale follows a tried-and-true cinematic template, meaning it won't necessarily surprise moviegoers who consider themselves familiar with the genre. Nonetheless, in spite of the somewhat generic screenplay by Johnson, Todd Bartels, Lou Howe and Matthew Miller, what really helps Tony stand out among the sea of similarly-themed biopics are the strong and memorable performances from the principal cast. Whether it's Sessa, whose portrayal at times bleeds into the same territory as his character from The Holdovers, Banderas, who makes an impact with his archetypal supporting role, or Jones, who does her best with a thankless part, the contributions from everyone on screen help make this based-on-real-life drama a little more relatable. And in the end, isn't that what both general audiences and longtime Anthony Bourdain fans deserve? Make no mistake, Tony isn't without its flaws; and for cynical viewers, it can sometimes give the impression of being lost in its own self-importance — a quality that, for better or for worse, makes the film feel like the culinary equivalent of a superhero origin story. Ultimately, however, this smorgasbord of snippets from Bourdain's early life may not be that informative; but just like a tasting menu at a fine-dining restaurant, it offers up just enough of an engaging glimpse at what truly made this beloved and outspoken chef so special. Tony releases August 14th, 2026 from Elevation Pictures. The film has an MPAA rating of R for pervasive language, drug use, and sexual content/nudity. Its runtime is 1 hr. 46 min. |
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