‘Tony’ Review: A Familiar Recipe Cooked with Love

BY DANTE ALVAREZ

AUGUST 3, 2026 6:49 EST

“Tony”

©A24

At 44 years old, Anthony Bourdain released his first novel, ‘Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly’. Right before the credits roll on the latest Matt Johnson feature, an infographic stating this information alongside a couple of facts about Bourdain’s life display themselves to the audience. Many major biopics in recent years have ended with similar sentiments and recaps regarding the “future” of many. While Johnson struggles to differentiate ‘Tony’ from the bitter pool of biopics, the tender and driven retelling of Bourdain’s summer can be described as lovely. Provincetown is captured intimately by cinematographer Michael Bauman, and creates a striking space to spend time in.

The script, brought together by Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels, and Lou Howe, circles in on what has been described as ‘the most important summer in Anthony Bourdain's life.’ As the film centers itself here, it also creates boundaries for itself that greatly benefit it. There is no concern with the future of Bourdain’s life and experiences, but that is substituted with great attention to the minor aspects that eventually influenced the rest of his career. It finds levity, humor, and passion throughout, which helps elevate much of it.

“Tony”

©A24

After his breakout role in Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers,’ Dominic Sessa solidified himself as a young and inspired performer. Under Johnson’s direction, he leads the ship for the first time in his career. Sessa brings almost everything that made him a delight to watch in ‘The Holdovers’ in another poignant, complex, and passionate performance. The entire film rests on his shoulders, and he is able to deliver an engaging and enormous performance. Without him, the project would lose a sincerity and honesty that he manages to carry with him for the entirety of the film’s runtime.

The entire ensemble, while small, is incredibly memorable. Antonio Banderas subtly delivers the most emotional performance in the film as the nameless and confident head chef. Even then, Leo Woodall secretly surprises and leaves a lasting impression. Plenty of performers (Stavros Halkias, Monica Raymund, and Emilia Jones) get moments to shine, and no one is ever holding back the script. The raunchiness and vividness brought by everyone behind the kitchen is matched well with Johnson’s tamest film yet. Johnson’s longtime collaborator, Jay McCarol, brings a lovely piano score that pairs well with the lowkey approach.

Matt Johnson’s direction is more focused than what he’s previously done. Although the story keeps itself loose, the third act struggles to find a comfortable line between cliché and moving. Anthony Bourdain is commonly praised for being a personality that often broke many boundaries through cultural voyages, but the film doesn’t really attempt to break the mold many biopics have. It only ends up suffering a bit from it, as the conflicts and their conclusions become tiresome. The overall meal ends up incredibly comforting because of its charming familiarity.