tony (2026)

directed by matt johnson

in general, it is wise to watch a film before reading reviews.

i did not follow this wisdom.

prior to the release of the film, i wanted to talk about how excited i was on my radio show, so what did i do? i looked up some pre-release critic reviews, particularly a review from the guardian (bad idea from the start, i know). this particularly criticism of the film is what struck me the most:

"This is a strange film in some ways. It is watchable and entertaining, but its feelgood trajectory is compromised by what we know of the author. In 2000, when the book came out and Bourdain was approaching the height of his celebrity, these anecdotes would have felt simply warm, wry and funny[…] But we are watching the film in the knowledge that Bourdain took his own life in 2018 after a painful breakup, having suffered from instability and depression. All the sadness, all the emotional danger that this film gestures at, all the crises that the drama suggests are just obstacles to be surmounted … they are all very real."

i then entered the watching experience painted by the reality that there would be a wash of upsetting irony throughout the whole film. every one of his self-destructive antics for love and the bad-guy-turned-good turnaround at the end would all exist with the unfortunate truth that ultimately, bourdain was a deeply depressed man, and it cost him his life. i was scared to laugh at the films light points and celebrate the character growth for fear of insensitivity towards the subject matter.

in spite of this though, i think this film did a heck of a good job.

in general, i thought the film was a heck of a romp. you have to understand that it is an adaption of anthony bourdain’s autobiography kitchen confidential which obviously, he wrote while he was alive. my friend erica insists that if you have yet to read the book, you must do it via audiobook, because bourdain himself narrates it and the content just hits different coming from the horse’s mouth (and that man has such a way of annunciating that makes you feel inextricably connected to him, no matter your walk of life). anyway, because the book is a reflection on his own adolescemce through matured eyes, the film adaption is of course going to be hued; a regretful and stupid young man who, through a series of trips and failures and good luck, ends up going from pretentious writing student at vassar, to culinary student at CIA (and yea, i think the culinary institute of america should change it’s name too, honestly). and so, while i do watch the film with pained and grieving eyes and heart, it does not negatively effect or colour my experience.

matt johnson is a canadian hero, in my eyes. with masterpieces such as operation avalanche (2016) nirvanna the band the show the movie (2025), and blackberry (2023) (which holds a personal place in my heart as the only representation of kitchener-waterloo i’ve ever seen in film, and possesses my favourite line from a film of all time), matt johnson has an absurd and keen sense of humor. i adore the attention to detail that makes you lean in close so you don’t miss a thing, only to then blast you back with scripting so insane, you literally hit the back of your chair. there are so many beautiful and intimate character moments that force you to fall in love with every single person in this film, no matter how despicable their actions. in particular, i couldn’t help but find myself fonding over sal, the bad-influence best friend who convinces tony to go down the ~bad road~ every anti-drug campaign from the 90s warns you about. but one of the last scenes in the film has him standing and staring disappointedly in a denim shirt and cute little black bandana, and with a man as dreamy as leo woodall, i mean really, can you blame me?

lastly, i want to give flowers to the man who stole the show for me, antonio banderas. i mean really, you can’t find a more paternal, hard-headed, ethnically-ambiguous, tough-love-type to fall in love with than the man behind zorro, gregorio cortez in spy kids, and puss in boots. not much more to say than: i want to give him a hug.

i’ll leave you off with a letterboxd review that in WAY fewer words, summarizes the film better than i ever possibly could.

Related Stories