Food-Related Scenes That Don’t Have Anything To Do With the Plot in a Movie Not About Food!

By Guest Writer, EJ

Often, the placement of food or food references in a movie allows one to know more about the characters or context; the use of food or eating food provides recognizable  social interaction or behavior which broadens characters or establishes or reinforces context such that the movie has more depth, and thus the characters or context become more real to the viewer as the plot advances.

This is a list of the movies with better than average  “Food-Related Scenes That Don’t Have Anything To Do With the Plot In A Movie Not About Food”.  That is, these scenes tell you something about where the movie is going or who the characters really are through the use of food as a device to broaden the character, provide interactions, or enhance the context.  But these scenes don’t necessarily advance the plot; they are sort of side expeditions which add to the overall feel of the movie or establish a better feel for the viewer of the characters.   And food is definitely not the key element in any of these  movies; the movies are not about food.

You can find all these scenes on YouTube.

Honorable Mention:   Silence of the Lambs (1991) – (food = fava beans).  Scene:  Clarise (Jody Foster) is visiting the prison to talk to Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) about helping her find the killer she is hunting.  In referencing an older case, Lector refers to his characteristic method of disposing of the body parts. The classic line by Hopkins is “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti”.

"Silence of the Lambs"- Fava Beans

The movie won 5 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Hopkins) Best Actress (Foster) Best Director (Jonathan Demme) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

5.            Cincinnati Kid (1965)  —  (food = steak).   Scene:  During the break in the poker game, Slade (Rip Torn) invites the Kid (Steve McQueen)  into his room and gives him a steak to eat while he talks over the poker match with him.  This scene gives you a real feel for the power dynamic that is going on in the game; it provides another opportunity for Slade to try to take over the situation (he has his man, Felix (Theo Marcuse) bring the food and serve the Kid) while trying to convince the Kid to go with the program and let the Shooter (Karl Malden) give him the occasional helping hand.  Plus it has one of the greater lines in the movie, delivered by Rip Torn (“How do you like that steak, Kid?)  You have to hear it to really appreciate it.

"Cincinnati Kid"- Steak

4.            Godfather I (1972) – (food = spaghetti sauce).  Scene:  Clemenza (Richard Castellano) is making a big pot of sauce for the group while they are working out what to do about the Godfather getting shot.   He gets Michael (Al Pacino) up with him and shows Michael how to make the sauce, with sausage, peppers, tomato paste, adding some wine, sugar.  He also has a great line, the opening line in the scene where he says to Michael, “Hey come over here, kid, learn something.  You never know, you might  have to cook for twenty guys someday…”

"The Godfather" -Spaghetti Sauce

To this day, I always add some sugar when I make sauce.

The Godfather was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won Best Picture, Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Marlin Brando.

3.            Five Easy Pieces (1970) – (food = toast)  Scene:  Bobby (Jack Nicolson) and Rayette (Karen Black) and two hitchhikers they picked up on the way to Puget Sound go into a diner to get something to eat.  Bobby just wants dry toast, but can’t get the waitress to give him what he wants so he orders a chicken sandwich and deconstructs it (hold the chicken, hold the mayo…) until the order only amounts to the toasted bread.  The classic line is “…I want you to hold it between your knees…” The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Karen Black), Best Picture and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced.

"5 Easy Pieces" -Toast

2.            Tom Jones (1963)  — (food = game, wine, vegetables)  In a celebrated scene, Tom (Albert Finney)  and Mrs. Waters (Joyce Redmond)  sit opposite each other in the dining room of the Upton Inn, wordlessly consuming an enormous meal while gazing lustfully at each other.  This scene needs no dialogue.

"Tom Jones" -Wild Game Feast

Tom Jones was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and won for Best Picture, Best Director (Tony Richardson), Best Original Score, and Best Writing Screenplay Adapted from another Medium.

1.            Cool Hand Luke (1967) – (food = eggs).  Luke (Paul Newman) bets that he can  eat 50 eggs in an hour.  This scene brings all the prisoner characters together in a way that personalizes them for the viewer, and demonstrates the underlying spirit of the main character that is the point of the movie.  While not in this scene, the famous line in the movie is given by Strother Martin as Captain: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate…”

"Cool Hand Luke" -Eggs

The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for Best Supporting Actor (George Kennedy).

-EJ