{"id":2088858,"date":"2026-08-11T09:47:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2088858"},"modified":"2026-08-11T09:47:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:47:15","slug":"tony-review-a-mostly-delicious-taste-of-pre-fame-anthony-bourdain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2088858","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Tony\u2019 review: a mostly delicious taste of pre-fame Anthony Bourdain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tony-A24-Anthony-Bourdain.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tony-A24-Anthony-Bourdain-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Tony\" title=\"Tony A24 Anthony Bourdain\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\"> Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in &#8216;Tony&#8217;. CREDIT: A24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Film Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">\u2018Tony\u2019 review: a mostly delicious taste of pre-fame Anthony Bourdain<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Matt Johnson\u2019s mini biopic of the rock star chef hits the spot, though the macho atmosphere is a tad overdone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">4<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Jordan Bassett<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-08-11T10:47:15+01:00\">11th August 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">W<\/strong>hat a mouth-watering prospect this is. Rock star chef Anthony Bourdain, who tragically took his own life in 2018 at the age of 61, was the best of us: funny, intrepid and with a natural warmth that glowed from the screen. His globe-trotting documentaries took us to places we may never otherwise see and showed us that a hole-in-the-wall joint can be just as special as a posh restaurant, if not more so. The idea of an A24 mini biopic that depicts his pre-fame years as a disaffected dishwasher in Provincetown, Cape Cod, then, is as tantalising as an ice-cold beer.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: The best films of 2026\u2026 so far!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For the most part, director and co-writer Matt Johnson (<i>BlackBerry, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/i>) serves up the goods. Set in 1975, <i>Tony <\/i>is a riotous coming-of-age tale that introduces its subject (played by <em>The Holdovers<\/em>\u2018 Dominic Sessa) as a feckless wannabe writer studying at Vassar College, New York State. Having failed to secure a summer-long NYC writing scholarship, he nevertheless tells everyone he was successful and, unbeknownst to his family, sets off to Cape Cod in pursuit of the girl of his dreams (Nancy, played by Emilia Jones). The fact that he has no money or plan to support himself is just the start of his problems.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>After a night of drunken buffoonery, he winds up at The Flagship, a seafood gaff run by a mysterious chef (Antonio Banderas) who\u2019s as dishy as the pots that Tony finds himself washing. The action is adapted from Bourdain\u2019s bestselling 2000 memoir <i>Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly<\/i> and some fans were concerned that Johnson (who knew little of Bourdain before taking on the project) might oversalt the stew. They needn\u2019t have worried: this breakneck service gallops along with lashings of classic rock, deliciously naughty gags and an evocative \u201970s colour palette of oranges, creams and browns. And if it seems at all reminiscent of <i>The Bear<\/i>, that\u2019s only because the revelatory <i>Kitchen Confidential<\/i> drew the template for the Chicago-set show in the first place.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3961813\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3961813\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3961813\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Anthony-Bourdain-biopic-Tony-A24.jpg\" alt=\"Leo Woodall and Dominic Sessa in &apos;Tony&apos;.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3961813\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leo Woodall and Dominic Sessa in \u2018Tony\u2019. CREDIT: A24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In any case, it\u2019s Sessa\u2019s performance that really carries the film. <i>Tony<\/i> opens with a quote in which Bourdain outlines just how obnoxious he was in his youth \u2013 and Johnson sets out to prove it. In another actor\u2019s hands, the leather jacket-clad 19-year-old could just seem like an unbearable dickhead, but Sessa offers glimpses of the vulnerability that made his character so compelling in real life. Bourdain\u2019s worst traits are further offset by an enjoyably ribald turn from Leo Woodall as Sal, the walking disaster of a cook who makes Tony look like a saint.<\/p>\n<p>The movie does have a woman problem though. Like Johnson\u2019s last film, <em>Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/em>, this story is almost exclusively about male bonding. Beyond the underwritten love interest and Bourdain\u2019s mum, Gladys \u2013 a two-dimensional baddie \u2013 the relentlessly macho atmosphere can become stifling. That\u2019s a shame, because on the whole this is a smartly scripted, beautifully crafted movie. So, although it\u2019s a little shy of a Michelin star, Tony is still a mightily satisfying feast.<\/p>\n<div class=\"game-review-verdict\">\n<h2>Details<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Director:<\/strong> Matt Johnson<\/li>\n<li><strong>Starring:<\/strong> Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> Out August 14 (in UK cinemas)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Anthony Bourdain<\/li>\n<li>Tony<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">When is \u2018House Of The Dragon\u2019 season four being released?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">The ending of \u2018House Of The Dragon\u2019 season three explained: who dies in the finale?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Graham Coxon recalls Madonna walking into the studio while Blur were making \u201913\u2019 with \u201cgenius\u201d William Orbit<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title 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class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">W<\/strong>hat a mouth-watering prospect this is. Rock star chef Anthony Bourdain, who tragically took his own life in 2018 at the age of 61, was the best of us: funny, intrepid and with a natural warmth that glowed from the screen. His globe-trotting documentaries took us to places we may never otherwise see and showed us that a hole-in-the-wall joint can be just as special as a posh restaurant, if not more so. The idea of an A24 mini biopic that depicts his pre-fame years as a disaffected dishwasher in Provincetown, Cape Cod, then, is as tantalising as an ice-cold beer.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: The best films of 2026\u2026 so far!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For the most part, director and co-writer Matt Johnson (<i>BlackBerry, Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/i>) serves up the goods. Set in 1975, <i>Tony <\/i>is a riotous coming-of-age tale that introduces its subject (played by <em>The Holdovers<\/em>\u2018 Dominic Sessa) as a feckless wannabe writer studying at Vassar College, New York State. Having failed to secure a summer-long NYC writing scholarship, he nevertheless tells everyone he was successful and, unbeknownst to his family, sets off to Cape Cod in pursuit of the girl of his dreams (Nancy, played by Emilia Jones). The fact that he has no money or plan to support himself is just the start of his problems.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>After a night of drunken buffoonery, he winds up at The Flagship, a seafood gaff run by a mysterious chef (Antonio Banderas) who\u2019s as dishy as the pots that Tony finds himself washing. The action is adapted from Bourdain\u2019s bestselling 2000 memoir <i>Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly<\/i> and some fans were concerned that Johnson (who knew little of Bourdain before taking on the project) might oversalt the stew. They needn\u2019t have worried: this breakneck service gallops along with lashings of classic rock, deliciously naughty gags and an evocative \u201970s colour palette of oranges, creams and browns. And if it seems at all reminiscent of <i>The Bear<\/i>, that\u2019s only because the revelatory <i>Kitchen Confidential<\/i> drew the template for the Chicago-set show in the first place.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3961813\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3961813\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3961813\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Anthony-Bourdain-biopic-Tony-A24.jpg\" alt=\"Leo Woodall and Dominic Sessa in &apos;Tony&apos;.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3961813\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leo Woodall and Dominic Sessa in \u2018Tony\u2019. CREDIT: A24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In any case, it\u2019s Sessa\u2019s performance that really carries the film. <i>Tony<\/i> opens with a quote in which Bourdain outlines just how obnoxious he was in his youth \u2013 and Johnson sets out to prove it. In another actor\u2019s hands, the leather jacket-clad 19-year-old could just seem like an unbearable dickhead, but Sessa offers glimpses of the vulnerability that made his character so compelling in real life. Bourdain\u2019s worst traits are further offset by an enjoyably ribald turn from Leo Woodall as Sal, the walking disaster of a cook who makes Tony look like a saint.<\/p>\n<p>The movie does have a woman problem though. Like Johnson\u2019s last film, <em>Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie<\/em>, this story is almost exclusively about male bonding. Beyond the underwritten love interest and Bourdain\u2019s mum, Gladys \u2013 a two-dimensional baddie \u2013 the relentlessly macho atmosphere can become stifling. That\u2019s a shame, because on the whole this is a smartly scripted, beautifully crafted movie. So, although it\u2019s a little shy of a Michelin star, Tony is still a mightily satisfying feast.<\/p>\n<div class=\"game-review-verdict\">\n<h2>Details<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Director:<\/strong> Matt Johnson<\/li>\n<li><strong>Starring:<\/strong> Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> Out August 14 (in UK cinemas)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/film-reviews\/tony-review-anthony-bourdain-dominic-sessa-leo-woodall-3961811&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tony-A24-Anthony-Bourdain.jpg&#8221;] Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in &#8216;Tony&#8217;. CREDIT: A24 ReviewsFilm Reviews \u2018Tony\u2019 review: a mostly delicious taste of pre-fame Anthony Bourdain Matt Johnson\u2019s mini biopic of the rock star chef hits the spot, though the macho atmosphere is a tad overdone 4 By Jordan Bassett 11th August 2026 What a mouth-watering prospect [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2088858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2088858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2088858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2088858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2088858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2088858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}