“Pastarioni” is the latest food-focused comedy by Iranian director Soheil Movaffagh, after “Chocolate”. The movie has a cameo by food critic and internet celebrity Hamid Sepidnam, known as Mr. Taster.
When the father of failed Western-style restaurant owner Ramin (Sam Derakhshani) passes away, he is forced to bring his son Hooshan (Mohammad Shakeri) home to Tehran. There, with the help of Ramin's aunt (Gohar Khanum) and a few other friends, the boy manages to create the best restaurants for regional food in Iran. Of course, this angers the competition until things escalate to a war.
At it's core, “Pastarioni” is a feel-good comedy about food and the importance of friendship and family. Or at least it tries to be. Whether it succeeds or not is difficult to say and very much based on the preferences of the viewers. If they are into jokes that involve one dimensional ultra villains, jokes that don't further the story and are based on a single trait of character (the aunt of the main character tends to stay in the toilet a lot and hides her money in her pillow, while the son of the villains is fat, spoiled, and likes games) or plots that don't make all that much sense, “Pastarioni” will be the right movie for them. If like me, they aren't among the select few with these specific liking, they'll find it sickeningly unfunny.
One of the main reasons for that is Hooshan's father, Ramin. Movaffagh tries to portray him as this widower who was forced to send his son to his father's house so he can try and save the family restaurant, named after his deceased wife. But in reality, he has sent his son to perform child labor and though this, has made him into a business genius, is suspect to say the least. Moreover, he decides to do it again after he causes the traditional (and very popular) restaurant his son helps establish fail. As a result, he comes across as very unlikeable.
That is not to say there isn't anything to like in “Pastarioni”. Yes, most of the jokes fall flat, the characters are one-dimensional and unlikeable, the plot makes absolutely no sense and the ending is rushed and weak. And yet, it all becomes almost palatable every time Hooshan appears on screen. Though I can't say that the boy who plays him is a good actor (though he's better than the majority of the other people in this movie), his diction, mannerisms, and delivery just reek of an old man. It's as if he really lived with his grandpa and picked up everything from him. This, coupled with the pretty ridiculous idea that he's a ruthless genius businessman who can make any restaurant popular in an instant, make for a pretty likable character. The only one in this otherwise dreadful experience of a movie.
