Movie and Lunch Club - The Hundred-Foot Journey

 

Late Friday I had my weekend blog entry ready to post the following morning but the devils of cyberspace had other ideas. Microsoft did one of those annoying upgrades in the middle of the night and every program I opened was like the first time they’d been used including the welcome screen with tutorials. All my settings and preferences were gone and in the process of doing what Microsoft did they wiped out all my documents, e-mail contacts, photos and bookmarks. Hopefully, the computer shop on Monday can get my photos and documents back. I have Carbonite back up but all my files are missing from there as well. They must have done their nightly backup after Microsoft wiped me clean. Probably my computer guru can figure it out. Carbonite is supposed to keep a three month’s worth of backups but I don’t know how to get at them and I’m too frustrated to keep trying.

My Movie and Lunch Club met this week and we had lunch before going to the theater which isn’t our usually habit. But in this case it was a good thing we did or we each would have ordered one of everything on the menu. The Hundred-Foot Journey was a foodie’s film to the core---one reviewer aptly called it food porn---and the restaurant we went to fit right in with that theme with its menu full of unusual things.  I had a smoked salmon and goat cheese frittata with some interesting flavor profiles though I’d never order it again. But I lucked out when we all sat down and I ended up across from the senior hall director who is interesting to talk with and I was in a prime place to see all the pure white, square and oblong dishes come out of the kitchen with their artistically arranged food on top. Even the coffee cups were square. I felt like I was on a set of The Iron Chef.

When I left the restaurant I saw a business near-by called the Funky Buddha and they had a standing chalkboard on the sidewalk that advertised, “Free hugs inside!” On a lark I went in to collect some hugs and I saw a list of classes they teach. Ah, uh…it was a yoga studio with a sense of humor! I didn’t sign up for Not Yo Momma’s Yoga or Shake Your Asana or Funky Buddha Slow Flows but if I was ever tempted to do a yoga class, that’s the place I’d go.

Back to the movie. The Hundred-Foot Journey stars Helen Mirren playing the owner of an elegant French restaurant and a young guy from South Carolina but of Indian descent who plays a gifted, up and coming culinary genius named Hassah.  Also in key roles are Om Puri, a well-known Bollywood actor who plays Hassah’s father and Charlotte Le Bon who takes on the role of a French sous chef. After one-hundred and twenty-two minutes of watching foods being prepared and served and watching the cast shop for produce and seafood I dare say everyone would feel their inner foodie coming out. Even I wanted to go home and chop something and I don't cook very often. Cooking was definitely part of the plot but it was billed as a movie about the clashing of the French and Indian cultures. The movie had some breathtaking panoramic scenery of southern France, too, that made me homesick for a place I’d never been. A subplot of two romances budding between the older stars and the younger stars added more spice to an otherwise cute---but not great---film. We all enjoyed it, though. It was upbeat, colorful, and with flawless acting that made up for the predictable storyline.

Saturday night I went to my first ever couple’s baby shower. It was kind of sweet watching a big, strong muscle bound guy---he runs a fitness center---opening up boxes full of teeny tiny outfits. He’s very happy to be a first-time father. They’ve been trying for a while. I’ve never been to a shower where liquor was served either, or where they roasted a pig and had tons of food. No dainty little salads for this crowd where you’re tempted to get a drive-through hamburger on the way home! I have been to so many baby showers this summer I’ve lost count---six maybe?

Anyway, if you don’t see me for a few days you’ll know my desktop computer is still in the shop and my backup laptop got the same little “gift” from Microsoft. I’m afraid to open it to find out. It’s so easy to get tech overload with all the devices in my life. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate digital TV, which my cable company made us all go to in this area? Thankfully, it’s not just me complaining or I’d feel old and useless. Even young people are having trouble figuring out how to turn their TVs on and off and they grumble just as loud about it as I do. I keep a chart by each TV and write down the sequence of buttons I push and what works one time doesn’t always work another time. Crazy! ©