Movie Review: 'Deli Man'
By Bill Wine
KYW Newsradio 1060
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- "There are two types of people in this world," wrote Damon Runyon, "those who love delis and those you shouldn't associate with."
That's the quote that opens Deli Man, a movie you might want to see because of where it's playing. And that means near a delicatessen.
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Why? Because you'll exit Deli Man jonesing for a pastrami or corned beef sandwich, or any of many other scrumptious-looking items that have just enjoyed a cinematographer's closeup.
Deli Man is a documentary about the delicatessen tradition in the US and Canada, specifically the Jewish deli that crops up in most big cities.
Will you exit hungry? Oy! I dare you to sit through it and not eat immediately afterward.
Deli Man mixes interviews, archival footage, and location shots to trace the delicatessen tradition and exists to say that the standard deli cuisine developed by Jewish immigrants from the diaspora in Eastern Europe that emerged primarily in New York City is dying out. Why? Because of its nutritionally incorrect offerings. And how do we know? The numbers make it obvious.
In short, delis used to number in the thousands. Now they barely make it to the hundreds.
The film is a tasty sandwich of social history, folksy humor, and affectionate nostalgia, especially for regular deli patrons, that argues that anyone who knows real deli food and how much it differs from fake deli food considers that a crying shame.
Ziggy Gruber, the principal interviewee, is a third-generation proprietor of Kenny & Ziggy's, in Houston, Tex. He grew up in New York City and worked in his family's deli. Later, he graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and trained at a three-star Michelin restaurant in London.
Then, this classically trained chef moved back to the US to become what the film's title proudly describes -- first in New York, then in Los Angeles, and eventually in Houston.
The mouth-watering sandwiches that his establishment (and establishments like it) serves are certainly prominently displayed as director Erik Anjou (The Cool Surface, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground, A Cantor's Tale) takes us to some of the nation's classic delicatessens –- think Carnegie, Katz's, and Canter's, among others -- and includes testimonials from such deli regulars as Jerry Stiller, Larry King, Alan Dershowitz, and Alan King.
But although Ziggy is interesting and amusing, he is far too extensively engaged as a talking head, an approach that takes time away from other delis, other chefs, other owners, and other dishes.
Unlike most narrative films, this documentary would benefit substantially from spreading the time and focus and credit around.
Maybe then it wouldn't seem so blatant a vanity project.
Regardless, we'll spread mustard on 2½ stars out of 4 for Deli Man, even if the delectable documentary's featured entrée should have been served as a side dish.