What THE MENU Is Really About

THE MENU is a unique blend of horror, suspense, and comedy which already makes it worth watching! But, part of why the comedy works so well is that it roots itself in a satire of something we can all relate to: content creation and consumption. Give the video a watch to hear my interpretation of what the writer’s are trying to say through that satire then let me know your thoughts in the comments!

0:00 Intro
1:42 Art vs Content
6:31 Entitlement
10:26 Cult of Personality
13:03 Emptiness
16:54 Conclusion

#AnyaTaylorJoy #TheMenuFilm #Searchlight

[nitsugazemag]

“You will eat less than you desire but more than you deserve, ” Elsa (Hong Chau). Such a brilliant line that ties it all up.

[tacoboutkayla]

I'm shocked nobody commented on the decision to include the ingredients for each dish... The entire theater laughed out loud when they captioned Tyler's dish 😂

[PoppoYoppo]

The only dish the chef actually prepared, himself, is the cheeseburger. He has all his lower chefs cooking all the dishes he thought of because he doesn't find joy in cooking them. He only truly found joy in preparing a cheeseburger that anyone could enjoy regardless of their class

[Teijinh]

Alot of people ignore the fact that margot paid with cash, and not with a card like everyone else. Not only does it remind us that shes not supposed to be there, it also reminds the chef of the years he spent flipping burgers, not caring about money. Now, he is just an artist whose work cant be appreciated by the people he serves. This is truly an exceptional movie

[joannahamilton]

I think Slowik whispered to Tyler that he was unworthy of dying in "The Menu" and should go off and do it himself. Which is why Tyler's reaction was so horrified. He was so eager to fit in and be liked by Slowik to the point that he was OK with dying, but being told that he didn't deserve the same fate as the other diners broke his spirit. Yet he still did what he was told and hung himself because he was still under the illusion that Slowik was God and he should approve of everything he says and does.

[juliaa]

also the fact that tyler KNEW he (and everyone) was gonna die and yet he still decided to take pictures and make content out of it

[RPGLover]

I loved the birthday cake "You guys told them it was my birthday?" "It seemed really funny three hours ago..."

[zeep]

if you look at it through julian slowik's lens, it's basically a revenge story. He hated every single one of the guests except for Margot, they both share the same pain sacrificing their life working in the service industry

[mocuishle]

I loved when Margot/Erin crawled across the table to slap the s**t out of Tyler when she found out he KNEW they would die! I cheered for her!

[hustle_simmons]

Slowick wouldn't scoff at the burger because he was truly happy when he was flipping them. It meant a memory of a simpler time. The cheeseburger cooking scene was one of my favorite scenes in a movie. Her eating that burger made Slowick smile if you pay attention to his face.

[ic]

The reason why he chose and invited the actor was HILARIOUS

[erinc.]

I love the part where the dude is hiding in the chicken coops, literally he's a chicken lol, and one of the cooks politely hands him a dessert made with a golden egg!! I laughed so hard at that!!!

[abbywolffe]

My favorite moment was when Slovik asked the two regulars to remember a single dish that he'd made for them. The look on his face, the way he's teary-eyed but not really crying, mocking them but not for his own enjoyment, just because he's disappointed, made me feel horrible. I didn't want to see them name a dish for their sake, but just to give him recognition.

[StevieDecks]

My favorite part of the movie was when Chef asks the assistant what school she went to and she says, “Brown.” He then asks if she had student loans and when she says “No, ” he says, “You die.” 😂

[nicolechannel]

My sister is a pastry chef in Savannah where the movie was filmed. She was a chef in this movie. She is in the clip serving the food critic a plate at the table.

[Homemadegameguru]

I love his explanation about the history of bread. It's the hardworking common-man's food. And ultimately, his pretentious unworthy diners did not deserve it.

[voguishramsh]

I also think that because everyone apart from margot comes from a privileged background, they didn’t attempt to survive or fight back much because they are just not used to having to fight for things. When you have everything and u can easily get things other people can’t for survival, for their needs and wants, you get complacent. And this is what i interpreted by the businessman’s wife gesturing for margot to leave.

[jonsrecordcollection]

I don't think Margo asked for a cheeseburger merely because she could enjoy it unironically, but also because she saw Slowik's old employee of the month photo from when he started out flipping burgers. She could see that, even with a humble beginning like flipping burgers, he still felt joy, instead of the emptiness he felt as a luxury chef at the pinnacle of his craft. In addition, as a sex worker, Margo probably has the emotional intelligence to sense what it's like inside a man's head (at least with respect to straight men). (We know Slowik is straight because of how he sexually harassed Katherine.) I think she figured out from Slowik's employee of the month photo that asking for a burger would mess with Slowik's head & unrattle him. That gave her the psychological opening she needed to role play & negotiate her way out of the situation, which ultimately saved her life.

[raheldeborah]

On a rewatch I noticed that some of the guests yell “We love you, Chef” with the cooks in the s’mores scene. I think that really adds to the idea that even they think they deserve this.

[glg]

I'm a former prof chef who worked in restaurants like this much of my career. The movie is partly about class - those who expect to be wowed for just showing up but who scoff at the ones they expect to do their wowing. Its a big reason why I left the Industry because I got tired of feeling I was catering to the whims of the obnoxious, who didn't understand the work and dedication that went into procuring the food and making the meal. The skill is more than about cooking technically. Chefs have to be mental mathematicians, project managers and low-key chemists.
I also remembered that everyone deserves high quality food, not just rich ppl. I grew up very poor and it became an affront to me to look out to the guests and no one looked like me or like they came from where I come from. It's not the entirety of the movie but that's the subject matter that really grabbed me.