Tribeca 2021: Wolfgang Review

This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.

Produced by Disney and directed by David Gelb, Wolfgang is a documentary centered around the iconic and innovative celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck, as he rose to popularity and worldwide appeal. It is a recounting of a life filled with chances and defiance, and yet, seems too timid to enter into a genuinely authentic space of storytelling. Instead, its reliance on a safe narrative that avoids detailing the darker moments of one’s life offers up a semi-interesting, but albeit entertaining, look back on a true genius within his field.

While Wolfgang does explore some of the figure’s early childhood hardships that would later become some of the driving forces behind his career, there were so many more missed opportunities to discuss the drama and tribulation that occurred in this man’s life as he rose to prominence in the culinary world both nationally and internationally. The film does show small moments of promise in this arena as Puck discusses the verbal abuse of his father, the rift between him and the restauranteur that gave him his start in Hollywood, his fear of fatherhood, and the divorce from his first wife who also served as the springboard for his successful business beyond Spago and his many other successful restaurants. Referencing these touchstones through its central figure and several other talking heads, the film would rather move on to happier times.

Wolfgang is a film that feels unfinished and lukewarm, and the void left with never allowing its subject to explore a deeper sense of victory over the more challenging moments or exploration in not succumbing to them feels as if the vehicle telling his story is doing him a disservice. However, what enables the film to almost rise above its setbacks is how magnetic and endearing the chef appears. As his story unfolds, one cannot help but cheer on his successes and be excited by each milestone as he celebrates in recounting them, all the while culminating in the chef reflecting on his legacy and a life well lived. Though the film could benefit from a more rounded approach, its incredibly charismatic and bubbly subject is almost made irrelevant as the audience easily captivated by such a wonderful personality who has experienced amazing success and chooses to continue sharing his talents with others.

still courtesy of Disney

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