Feast of Love DVD Review

Hoping to enjoy another chick flick/romantic film along the lines of The Jane Austen Book Club, I watched Feast of Love, which is one of those films you’re either going to love or you’re going to hate. The film, which is based upon a novel of the same name by Charles Baxter and adapted by Allison Burnett, who wrote Autumn in New York.

For those who have never ventured into the Pacific Northwest, and Portland, Oregon, in particular, the locale (Portland) might be one of the best things about the film, as the landscapes are lush with greenery known only to that neck of the woods.

Feast of Love is directed by Robert Benton, perhaps most well known for writing and directing Kramer vs. Kramer. The film is narrated by Morgan Freeman, who also stars in the film as college professor Harry. While there’s no question that the biggest star of the film is Freeman, the remaining cast, including Greg Kinnear, Jane Alexander, Radha Mitchell, Selma Blair, Missi Pyle, Alexa Davalos and Toby Hemingway are no slouches, given what they had to work with.

Kinnear plays Bradley Thomas, an artist and the owner of a local coffee hangout, Jitters. Bradley is married to Kathryn (played by Selma Blair), a woman who stereotypically loves sports and is also unsure of her sexuality. Then there’s Oscar (played by Toby Hemingway), who works at Jitters and falls in love at first sight with Chloe (played by Alexa Davalos). Mitchell plays real estate agent Diana, Alexander plays Harry’s wife, and Pyle plays Bradley’s sister.

With characters falling in and out of love, as well as in and out of bed, Freeman provides the core of the film, both in reality and metaphysically, as he seems to be present in one way or another throughout the trials and tribulations of the remaining cast of characters. Unfortunately, the plot is fairly predictable and the “twist” at the end can be seen from a mile away.

The film is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with audio available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1, or Spanish or French Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish. The only extra is a 12-minute featurette, “The Players”, which includes interviews with some of the cast, as well as discussion of the major plot points.

Fans of Freeman might enjoy Feast of Love, but for the rest of you, don’t expect love at first sight—unless, of course, you love Portland, Oregon.