Review of Cooking With Stella (2010) by Kathy T — 07 May 2010

Originally, I was hoping to see a cooking movie (per the title). But what this is is a con movie. The twist is that the mark (the diplomats) are actually very sympathetic (ok, verging on stereotypical ardent do-gooders) and the cons are also fairly sympathetic (doing what they do to get by).

So, like a con movie, the comedy value is played up. The romance scenes are Bollywood cheesy and are good for a laugh (or several). And of course the straight woman says what it is.

Clearly, they principles are not anyone's role model. Stella is corrupting and manipulative. Tannu starts off as an innocent, but her moral code is purely the result of family upbringing, and is easily subverted once she believes that her family has released her from those childish ways. (Thinking back on it, it would not be a stretch for that release to be contrived as part of the con). And generally, the cons feel entitled to all they can get off the naive, rich foreigners who are in their country.

The marks are cast as naive (like all marks) although you get the sense that they know what they are in for, and have accepted it as a cost of business.

Purely entertaining. Nothing deeper was intended. And fits is purpose well.