La Cucina is a 2007 romantic drama written by A. W. Gryphon. The film stars Christina Hendricks

Christina Hendricks

Christina Rene Hendricks is an actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.-Personal...

, Joaquim de Almeida

Joaquim de Almeida

Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida is a Portuguese-born American actor. He began his acting doing some theater. During the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film The Soldier, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film...

, Leisha Hailey

Leisha Hailey

Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician most widely known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks production The L Word...

, & Rachel Hunter

Rachel Hunter

Rachel Hunter is a New Zealand born American model, actress and reality TV show host who now resides in the U.S. She is best known for her appearance in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her longtime marriage to singer Rod Stewart, which ended in 2006...

. It was directed by first time directors Allison Hebble & Zed B. Starkovich. The film was scored by Ian Ball

Ian Ball

Ian Ball is an English singer songwriter, most notable for being part of the indie rock band Gomez, sharing lead vocals and guitars. He has also performed and released a solo recording. He is also a member of the 14 piece supergroup Operation Aloha along with fellow Gomez member Olly Peacock...

 from the band Gomez

Gomez (band)

Gomez are an English indie rock band from Southport, comprising Ian Ball , Paul "Blackie" Blackburn , Tom Gray , Ben Ottewell and Olly Peacock . The band is distinguished for having three singers and four songwriters, employing traditional and electronic instruments...

. Although Ball had contributed songs to other films such as the Academy Award winning film American Beauty

American Beauty (film)

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...

, this was his first attempt at scoring an entire film.

The film premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival

Hollywood Film Festival

The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual Film festival which is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Festival was established in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington....

 on October 19, 2007. It won Best Feature at the Beloit International Film Festival

Beloit International Film Festival

The Beloit International Film Festival is an annual film festival in Beloit, Wisconsin, usually held in mid February. The first edition of the festival took place in 2006...

& the Los Angeles Backlot Film Festival, and Best Screenplay at the Bragacine International Film Festival in Portugal. A Best Actor nod went to Joaquim de Almeida

Joaquim de Almeida

Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida is a Portuguese-born American actor. He began his acting doing some theater. During the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film The Soldier, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film...

 and a Producers Award to Executive Producer Starlotte Smith at the Bragacine International Film Festival. It was an Official Selection of the La Femme Film Festival and the Portocine International Film Festival, as well as a Special Screening at the Cinema Film Festival. It premiered on Showtime on December 4, 2009. Anthem Pictures released La Cucina on DVD and Blu Ray on January 12, 2010.

A.W. Gryphon also wrote the supernatural novel Blood Moon. Allison Hebble, Zed Starkovich and Starlotte Dawn Smith were all neighbors in West Hollywood. They got to talking one day over a glass of wine and decided to make a movie. They called some friends and less than a year later went in to production on La Cucina.

Plot

La Cucina is a brief slice of life that is set in present day Los Angeles, on a hot summer evening in a West Hollywood apartment building. An intimate character study, it focuses on 3 couples and their very different relationships over food & wine. A young writer, Lily (Hendricks) goes on an emotional rollercoaster with the much older (17 years) and sophisticated Michael (Almeida). They navigate through a web of exploration on marriage, cheating, babies, and entrapment. In the kitchen above, the very pregnant Shelly (Hailey) is terrified that becoming a mother will drive away her husband and has turned for advice to her lesbian friend Jude (Hunter),sure that this magnificent cook who has been in a long-term relationship has it all figured out. It is revealed that Shelly has her own secrets that fuel her fear and Jude's relationship may not be exactly as it appears. They struggle through—fighting, laughing, crying, cooking & eating—trying to work out what really makes relationships work.

Cast

• Christina Hendricks
  Christina Hendricks
  Christina Rene Hendricks is an actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.-Personal...
  
   as Lily
• Joaquim de Almeida
  Joaquim de Almeida
  Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida is a Portuguese-born American actor. He began his acting doing some theater. During the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film The Soldier, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film...
  
   as Michael
• Leisha Hailey
  Leisha Hailey
  Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician most widely known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks production The L Word...
  
   as Shelly
• Rachel Hunter
  Rachel Hunter
  Rachel Hunter is a New Zealand born American model, actress and reality TV show host who now resides in the U.S. She is best known for her appearance in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her longtime marriage to singer Rod Stewart, which ended in 2006...
  
   as Jude
• Kala Savage as Raven
• Oz Perkins
  Oz Perkins
  Osgood Robert "Oz" Perkins II is an American actor.He was born in New York City, New York, the elder son of the actor Anthony Perkins and the photographer and actress Berry Berenson, who was killed in the 9-11 attacks...
  
   as Chris
• Michael Cornacchia
  Michael Cornacchia
  Michael Cornacchia is an American actor.-Education:Michael graduated from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California with a degree in theatre.-Career:...
  
   as Andy
• Clare Carey
  Clare Carey
  Clare Carey is a film and television actress.-Background:Carey was born at a Catholic mission in Zimbabwe where her father and mother were serving...
  
   as Celia

Reviews

"Move over Julia Child

Julia Child

Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...

, Christina Hendricks

Christina Hendricks

Christina Rene Hendricks is an actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.-Personal...

is in the kitchen!"

“[An] intriguing introspective look at. . .relationships.”

"4 stars. “La Cucina” made me want to grab a bottle of Chianti and start cooking!"