Mostly Martha (2001)
Directed by Sandra Nettelbeck
Written by Sandra Nettelbeck
Starring Martina Gedeck, Sergio Castillitto
Release Date August 6th, 2001
Published December 2nd, 2002
In the late 90’s early 2000;s there was a small subgenre that some have dubbed the “food movie.” Films where the preparing of food is as or even more important than the character-driven stories surrounding them. Films like Big Night, Tortilla Soup, and Like Water For Chocolate all centered around food so beautifully prepared that the audience actually salivates. The German film Mostly Martha is a food movie but much depends on your love of German food.
The film stars Martina Gedeck as Martha, a talented chef who lives to prepare food. Her obsessions are so strong that she is forced to see a shrink because she relates to food better than she does to people. Martha's assistant chef is leaving and is replaced by an Italian chef who does things his own way. Sergio Castellita plays Mario, and rather than following Martha's lead, he immediately begins changing things (including the menu), much to Martha's dismay.
Complicating things further for Martha is the death of her sister which leaves Martha to care for her nine-year old niece Lina (Maxime Forest). Martha has never had a child and has not spent much time with her niece in her short life. Her only connection to the kid comes from food and making meals for the kid. With no other options, Martha is forced to bring Lina to the restaurant where Lina bonds with Mario.
Mostly Martha is a simple film in scale. It is an average romantic comedy with the conventional feel of an American film. Watching it, you can easily imagine an American version with Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan in the lead opposite Kevin Kline with a funny accent or a cast-against-type John Cusack as the Italian love interest. It is such a conventional romantic comedy that it exhibits everything I have come to hate about the genre: the predictability, the cuteness, and the obvious strain to keep the lovers apart until the end.
Not surprisingly, the only real bright spot in Mostly Martha is the food. There are some very lovely scenes of food preparation and presentation in Mostly. Credit goes to Cinematographer Michael Bertl for filming the food as if you could eat it off the screen. Director Sandra Nettleback seems to sense the film's weaknesses and tries to use the delectable food to distract from the predictable story.
Mostly Martha has been compared, by some, to the amazing Hugh Grant film About A Boy, because of the difficult relationship between Martha and her newly-adopted niece. The comparisons are entirely one note in that both movies depict difficult relationships between childish adults and wise-beyond-their-years children; however, the comparisons end there. Where About A Boy is charming and funny, Mostly Martha is predictable and forced.
Mostly Martha has its moments—all of them dealing with food. The rest of the film is pure romantic comedy washout.
