Lasse Hallström revisits familiar territory with The Hundred-Foot Journey, a warmly lit, yet cloyingly corny and drama-free adaptation of Richard C. Morais’ novel of the same name. Talented cook Hassan (Manish Dayal) and his family – Papa (Om Puri) and his other children – relocate to France after a devastating fire, opening an Indian restaurant in a rural village. It’s not all happy endings, however, as their arrival doesn’t sit well with snobby restauranteur Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, The Hundred-Foot Journey has a lot of pedigree behind it, but sadly is unable to transcend its habit of skimming through information and any drama whatsoever. The script, penned by Steven Knight, lavishes in trite dialogue and mawkish sentimentality, leaving a film that, while easy on the eye, is dreadfully bland and prosaic. The performers do what they can with the material. Mirren is on fine form, while Puri steals the show. But for all they try, there’s no escaping the limited screenplay, which ensures that The Hundred-Foot Journey never lives up to its positioning as a culinary treat, let alone culture clash workings.
A longer version of this review was first posted on CineVue.
Empty Screens 
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel came to mind (I only saw the trailer)
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I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. But The Hundred-Foot Journey doesn’t even come close to that film.
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Oh 😦
You have become the person I read for what I probably will or will not like. At the moment, the two films I want to see are A Most Wanted Man and Magic In The Moonlight as also the Scarlet Johansen film that you reviewed.
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I love Helen Mirren!
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I do too. But she’s wasted here.
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On the contrary, I find hundred foot journey filling all the senses and stirring the mix of the two cultures quite tastefully. And best exotic marigold privileges the old and their fulfillment and happiness, which Hollywood rejects often enough. These two have ‘soul’ unlike the vegetables in England.
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