Dinner Rush (2000)

91% of critics liked it
(44 reviews)
80% of users liked it
(3,838 ratings)

Music may be the food of love, but a group of gangsters are singing a very different tune at a fancy New York dining room in this dark comedy. Louis (Danny Aiello) is the owner of an upscale restaurant in New York's Tribeca district where his son Udo (Edoardo Ballerini) has become the head chef.… More Music may be the food of love, but a group of gangsters are singing a very different tune at a fancy New York dining room in this dark comedy. Louis (Danny Aiello) is the owner of an upscale restaurant in New York's Tribeca district where his son Udo (Edoardo Ballerini) has become the head chef. Udo's exotic recipes have made the restaurant the talk of the town and very profitable as well, though Louis confesses that he can't stand Udo's cooking. Louis has another son, Duncan (Kirk Acevedo), who runs with a bad crowd; Louis finds out just how bad they are one night when they stop by to dine, with Duncan in tow, informing Louis that his son owes them quite a bit of money and they aren't leaving until they're given part ownership of the restaurant -- or else someone will be killed. Dinner Rush was directed by Bob Giraldi, a noted director of commercials and music videos who also enjoyed success as a restaurateur. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Bob Giraldi
Written By: Brian S. Kalata & Rick Shaughnessy, Brian Kalata, Rick Shaughnessy
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 28, 2001 Limited
On DVD: Jan 21, 2003
Studio: Access Motion Picture Group

Critic Reviews

, Chicago Tribune
Aiello is perfect as the low-key Louis, and there is not a weak link in his entire supporting cast.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
There are enough plots here to challenge a Robert Altman, specialist in interlocking stories, but the director, Bob Giraldi, masters the complexities as if he knows the territory.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Benefits enormously from Aiello's down-to-earth magnificence.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
Dinner Rush has the attention to frantic detail and hustling spirit that adds necessary sizzle to restaurant films.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Surely as satisfying as any of the delicious-looking food served at Louis' restaurant -- and is as full of surprises as any dish Udo ever concocted.
Kevin Maynard, Mr. Showbiz
A funny, frenetic, and often quite touching microcosm of the Big Apple life itself.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Set in a downtown restaurant, this is a small, well-acted (particularly by Danny Aiello) quintessentially New York film that recalls indie movies of the 1980s.
Gabriel Shanks, Mixed Reviews
Shares the heady, dizzying atmosphere that turns great meals into memorable events.
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff
A genre film, but it tries to tell a story from a different angle - not through tough guys and excessive violence but through a character-driven drama with several different perspectives.
Tom Grealis, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
This is an unusually patient and composed feature - it's solidly scripted, it knows where it's going and arrives there with a minimum of fuss.
F.X. Feeney, L.A. Weekly
Fiery energy, swift, character-driven chitchat and a tough, upbeat sense of how the world works.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
The conflict between the 'sausages and peppers' father and his 'lobster in shallot, champagne and vanilla bean sauce' son is just one of many juicy threads running through this Altman-esque banquet.
Erin Free, FILMINK (Australia)
'...beautifully captures the spirit and pace of a popular, bustling eating-house.'
Ian Waldron-Mantgani, UK Critic
A movie of rich specifics and stylistic creativity that clearly comes from the heart
Jamie Russell, BBC
It's as insubstantial as a plate of linguini, but very, very tasty.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Danny Aiello, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Mike McGlone, Sandra Bernhard, John Corbett, Kirk Acevedo, Summer Phoenix, Polly Draper, Jamie Harris, Mark Margolis Director: Bob Giraldi Summary: Louis (Danny Aiello) is an aging bookie and restaurateur who's bemoaning… More
Cast: Danny Aiello, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Mike McGlone, Sandra Bernhard, John Corbett, Kirk Acevedo, Summer Phoenix, Polly Draper, Jamie Harris, Mark Margolis Director: Bob Giraldi Summary: Louis (Danny Aiello) is an aging bookie and restaurateur who's bemoaning the transformation of Giginos -- his restaurant in the TriBeCa area of New York City -- from a down-to-earth, mom-and-pop Italian eatery to a pretentious, see-and-be-seen establishment. To make matters worse, Louis's son Udo (Edoardo Ballerini), a talented chef, wants to take over the restaurant ... as do a pair of thugs who murdered Louis's partner. My Thoughts: "I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It's not one I planned on seeing. But I am glad I did. There's only a handful of actor's in this that are recognizable for me, but there is great acting by every lead and supporting actor in this. There are many characters in this movie and the director does a great job at playing off of all of them. It's an impressive weaved story. I am still surprised by the ending since I didn't see it coming. It's not your average mob story, but one I enjoyed from start to finish. "
Aaron N

Louis Cropa: You know they say revenge is a dish best eaten cold. Gary Lieberman: Served. Louis Cropa: What? Gary Lieberman: Yes sir. Served cold. A small indie comedy involving a restaraunt and mobsters. Mainly about one long night in a popular New York restaraunt, where we see all… More
Louis Cropa: You know they say revenge is a dish best eaten cold. Gary Lieberman: Served. Louis Cropa: What? Gary Lieberman: Yes sir. Served cold. A small indie comedy involving a restaraunt and mobsters. Mainly about one long night in a popular New York restaraunt, where we see all sorts of people, the jerks, a critic, chefs, cooks, waiters, and some mob goombas. The food shown being made looks great, and it's hard to see without becoming hungry. A fun movie with some quirks to make it better along the way.
Chosen 7

I was channel surfing when I stumbled across this interesting Independent drama [written by Rick Shaughnessy and Brian S. Kalata] on the Sundance channel. The director Bob Giraldi ("Hiding Out") somehow managed to successfully pull off a realistic restaurant movie with a… More
I was channel surfing when I stumbled across this interesting Independent drama [written by Rick Shaughnessy and Brian S. Kalata] on the Sundance channel. The director Bob Giraldi ("Hiding Out") somehow managed to successfully pull off a realistic restaurant movie with a gangster subplot, all while staging practically the whole film inside or right outside a popular Italian restaurant in Tribeca, NYC. Great performances by Danny Aiello ("The Last Don", "City Hall","Léon The Professional", "Do the Right Thing", "Moonstruck"), Kirk Acevedo ("Fringe", "The Black Donnellys", "Oz", "Band of Brothers"), Summer Phoenix ("Esther Kahn", "The Believer", "The Laramie Project", "SLC Punk!", "Wasted"), Mark Margolis ("The Wrestler", "The Black Donnellys", "Oz", "Nobody", "Gone Baby Gone"), Vivian Wu ("The Pillow Book", "Song jia huang chao", "The Joy Luck Club", "The Last Emperor", "Shanghai Red"), Edoardo Ballerini ("Boardwalk Empire"- New HBO drama, "A Year and a Day","Protect and Serve", "Life Is Hot in Cracktown","Romeo Must Die"), Polly Draper ("thirtysomething", "Second Best", "A Perfect Fit","My Idiot Brother"- in production for 2011), Mike McGlone ("The Brothers McMullen", "The Bone Collector", "She's the One","The War Within", "The Kill Point"), Ajay Naidu ("Office Space", "The Guru", "The Wrestler", "The War Within", "Today's Special", "Montana"), Manny Perez ("Washington Heights", "100 Centre Street", "Pride and Glory", "El cantante", "Illegal Tender" "Crooklyn"), Jamie Harris ("The Prestige", "Mr. Nice","Rise of the Apes"-2011), John Corbett ("United States of Tara", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Lucky", "The Visitor", "Sex and the City"), Sandra Bernhard ("Roseanne", "The King of Comedy", "Hudson Hawk", "Nice Dreams", "Wrongfully Accused"), John Rothman ("Prime","Welcome to Mooseport", "Reservation Road" , "The Devil Wears Prada"), Walt MacPherson ("Homicide: Life on the Street", "DONNIE BRASCO", "Montana"), and Fanshen Cox ("Gone Baby Gone"). Good cinematography by Tim Ives ("How to Make It in America", "Blue Bloods" - New TV Show). It was structured almost more like a play than a movie, the performances and pace seemed to reflect that a little, and somehow the formula worked [even though it might be a little too slow for some]. I enjoyed the contributions each character made to the overall plot...there's an old school restaurant owner/recently-retired bookie, two mob goons looking to collect money from the sous chef and possibly take over a controlling piece of the restaurant, a mysterious guy wearing a two-striped tie sitting by the bar all night seemingly taking in the scenery while observing everyone, an arrogant art dealer, a struggling artist/waitress, a cool intelligent bartender hustling people out of money by answering all sorts of questions, a womanizing star chef who comes up with exciting new dishes that woo food critics and make everyone keep coming back for more, a sous chef with a gambling addiction who does most of the work in the kitchen, and a temporary power outage almost serves as a character all it's own. All of these personalities are ingredients that mix together well and make for an engaging albeit slow-paced cinematic dish, with an ending that is a satisfying cold dessert. Overall it's a good drama, old-school film-making at it's best.