by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who spends as much time consuming cooking content, but so little time actually, you know, cooking, than me.
My fascination with culinary shows started with Emeril Live and continues today with entries like The Chef Show and MasterChef in its various forms. Somewhere sandwiched in the middle were the days spent checking out Travel Channel content, including Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. After his suicide back in 2018, I also went down the Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown rabbit hole, though I never did read his famous “Kitchen Confidential.”
Bourdain was one of the most fascinating and charismatic characters of the culinary would. Therefore, a documentary on his life likely would have piqued my interest, regardless. Add in the director who so brilliantly captured the brilliance and charm of Fred Rodgers in Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Morgan Neville), and it immediately becomes a must-see.
Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain did not disappoint.
One of the things that made the Won’t you be my Neighbor? so incredible is that Neville was able get the feel of both Rodgers and his show. He pulls the same trick off here. The signature Bourdain voiceover that was such a staple of his show is utilized as well to great effect. The film feels almost like an extended episode of one of his shows at times, and the use of clips from various shows, interviews, or home videos throughout are cut brilliantly.
It also helps that Neville has a fascinating and complex subject to try to understand. As someone who knew him mostly from his version portrayed in his television shows, it was interesting to see how far that was from his personality when he first dipped his toes in the waters of television. Seeing how Bourdain built his brand and the extent to which the TV personality and the “real” Bourdain began to blur never ceases to fascinate. The documentary examines the struggles he had with his fame and the addictions he struggled with in their various forms — from drugs, to travel, and relationships.
In addition to the voiceover from Bourdain and the various videos used to stitch together the audio, the story of the documentary is told through interviews with friends, colleagues, and family. From his business partners, to friends — both in the culinary world and outside of it — and those crew members that helped tell Bourdain’s stories on television, we get a better understanding of one of the 21st century’s most influential personalities. At least until the focus turns to even something they still struggle to understand.
As the film says from jump with Bourdain’s narration, “there’s no happy ending” here, and the final quarter of the film takes a dark turn. The shadow of Bourdain’s suicide that has been hanging over the film since the beginning comes more into focus as we approach the conclusion. His friends and colleagues are clearly still trying to process the events of 2018. It’s an emotionally charged and heavy finale and probably the only word of caution I’d give about this movie: you have to know yourself and know whether that particular exploration is something you want to or can handle.
From how the film is edited and what is extracted from the on-camera interviews, it’s clear that Bourdain isn’t the only master we’re watching at work. Neville expertly captures what made Bourdain such a magnetic personality and the impact his writing, television shows, and suicide have had. Once again, Neville has captured the essence of another television icon in a brilliant and powerfully told story. Perhaps the biggest compliment that I can give the documentary is it immediately made me want to go home and turn on an episode of one of his shows, or perhaps finally crack open his best-selling novel. If the darker themes are something you can handle, a trip to the theater is one I can recommend with no reservations.
Grade: A
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