R | 1h 46m | Drama, Romance, Biography | 2026
It’s probably worth mentioning that “Tony” is not a cradle-to-grave bio drama about late chef and travel correspondent Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa), nor does it go into the messy details regarding his final years.
Based on the first two chapters of Bourdain’s landmark book, “Kitchen Confidential,” “Tony” is a frank exploration of Bourdain’s introduction into to the culinary world, which he, at the same time, considered a brief pit stop on his way to literary immortality.
There’s no doubt Bourdain had a way with words. In his mind, his gifts as a scribe far eclipsed his talents as a cook or a TV personality, which is the ultimate point of co-writer and director Matt Johnson’s score. Most of us eventually found out we were good at a couple of things but not great at what we might actually love to do.
“Tony,” for the most part, paints a rather unflattering portrait of the title subject. The opening title card features a quote from the book, which also appears on the movie poster. It’s a perfect descriptor of Bourdain in 1975 when the entire story takes place.
It reads: “I was—to be frank—a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout.”
Aimless and Unlikeable
I know what you’re thinking. Why would I want to invest time and money to watch such a toxic, aimless, and unlikeable guy for some 100 odd minutes? It’s a great question. Please let me try to persuade you.
Bourdain’s initial goal for his book was to write something blending the styles of Orson Welles and Jack Kerouac, two other guys with major disruptor backgrounds in their own right. Bourdain applied for a fellowship at a prominent northeast college to fund his project. He then stumbles through his ill-prepared presentation and is ultimately denied.
Not wanting to admit failure to his parents, he raids his dad’s wallet and decides to travel to Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He’s doing this to try to convince a girl who is way out of his league (Emila Jones as Nancy) to find, perhaps, his failing bohemian aura alluring. It doesn’t work. She already has a boyfriend.
After a series of blunders, Tony finds an empathetic spirit in the form of Chef (Antonio Banderas). Chef gives him a job in the most lowly of restaurant positions: dishwasher. He likes Tony but pushes him hard; it’s the way a bronco rider tries to break an unruly horse.
New Slant
The secret to a biographical movie such as this is to give the audience something they haven’t seen before. “Tony” does that and then some. For the first half, the only likeable character with a major speaking part is Chef.
Tony certainly is not. Nancy, Tony’s high school crush, whom he follows to Provincetown, without her knowledge, is noticeably full of herself.
Chef’s two main assistants, Sal (Leo Woodall) and Stavros (Stavros Halkias), are obnoxious bullies who mercilessly pick on Tony. Even Tony’s mother, Gladys (Dagmara Dominczyk), appears intent on hurling barbs at her son’s career choice.
This approach to characters bears some resemblance to Johnson’s approach to his 2023 black comedy “BlackBerry,” itself a riff on “The Big Short” from 2015.
Tony gets his big break when the drug-riddled lothario Sal shows up late (Chef’s major pet peeve) and seals his fate by punching Chef in the face. Tony takes Sal’s place, preparing raw oysters, and he starts to realize this cooking thing might be his true calling.
Characters’ Hard Edges
Credit to Johnson and his three co-writers for not sanding down the hard edges of these characters to make them more likeable. Even when Tony and Nancy begin exhibiting some vulnerability and start to (relatively) lighten up, it’s hard-earned. As Chef is nice and honorable throughout, the filmmakers keep us guessing by being vague about his mysterious past and his Christian name.
For Jones (“CODA,” the upcoming “Charlie Harper”), the role of Nancy is perfect for her girl-next-door looks, mixed with Nancy’s negativity.
Sal is unlike anything the British Woodall (“Vladimir,” “Tuner,” “Nuremberg”) has yet attempted. If he takes on a full-blown villain in a future project, it’s a role for him that would be well-received.
Tony’s role is a natural extension of Sessa’s resentful and brooding private-school teen in “The Holdovers” (2023).
The big prize here belongs to Banderas. In a career littered with Oscar-worthy performances, he’s only been nominated for one in “Pain and Glory” (2019). He’s at an age now (66) where whispers of a “career achievement” win are going to grow louder as the awards season starts in earnest next month.
There is a difference between similar wins by Al Pacino and Paul Newman in the relatively recent past. Here, Banderas is sneakily amazing in the role and fully deserves the award for merit, not pity.
The movie is now playing in theaters nationwide.
‘Tony’
Director: Matt Johnson
Stars: Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall
Running Time: 1 hour 46 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: Aug. 21, 2026 (wide)
Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5
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