South by Southwest Film Festival kicked off Friday night with the world premiere of Jon Favreau's "Chef." Favreau, who also wrote and directed the film, stars as Chef Carl Casper. Casper suddenly quits his job at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative cooking abilities to appease the controlling owner, played by Dustin Hoffman in a great featured role.

After going on an impromptu trip with his Cuban-American ex-wife (played by "Modern Family's" Sofia Vergara) and his son (Emjay Anthony), Chef Carl goes back to his roots and reignites his passion for the kitchen: in the form of a food truck. With the help of his line cook and friend (John Leguizamo), he embarks on a cross-country road trip bringing the Cuban American taste of Miami all the way back to Los Angeles.

"Chef" marks Jon Favreau's return to independent film after helming "Iron Man," "Iron Man 2" and "Cowboys & Aliens." With an all-star cast including Hoffman, Vergara, Leguizamo, Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, the acting is spot-on for this low-budget picture. The film has an overarching lightheartedness. It gives a comedic and positive feel, but has so little conflict that there are almost no stakes. The most redeeming quality of the film is the relatable nature of the protagonist, Favreau's Chef Carl. Favreau discussed, in his introduction to the screening, while many current "big budget" films rely on fantasy and escape from the real world, "Chef" embraces the joys of everyday life, and the challenges we all face. My biggest complaint is the slow start to the film, and the amount of time it takes for the story to really take off. Nonetheless, "Chef" overflows with laughs from start to finish, has a cast everyone loves to watch and ended to an uproarious applause.

"Chef" did justice to the opening day of SXSW, featuring local establishments (like Franklin Barbecue) and providing the audience, including myself, with a laugh-filled indie flick. The film overcame its conflict-free script with engaging, genuine, and comedic characters.

Grade: B

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