Review: Bare with me as I recount a short tale. I remember finding my theater seat last year, anxiously anticipating Spiderman 3. Everything seemed so right (according to advertisements, it had great actors, the perfect villain, an amazing story line and wonderful fight scenes), how could this possibly fail? Then 20 minutes into the thing I wanted to claw my eyes out in frustration. How could so much anticipation be squandered on meaningless drivel? I thought I’d never feel that way again until I saw How to Cook Your Life. This documentary literally screwed me over… hard… very, very hard. Of course, I should have realized I was in for trouble when the camera catches a snail on the side of a building (bad omen #1). Shortly after bad omen # 1, as Edward Brown introduces himself to his class, the audience is treated to a cat passed out, exclaiming to the world that even curious creatures find the film’s main subject dull (we’ll call this bad omen #2). If you truly wanted me to, I could sit through the countless “bad omens” that persist throughout Doris Dorrie’s documentary, but at some point you gotta just call them what they are: poorly executed filming. In fact, How To Cook Your Life appears to be exactly that, a poorly executed and thought out documentary. I’ll admit, the idea of a Buddhist monk cooking school sounds rather interesting, especially when the head monk has temper issues. But, any filmmaker with enough sense should have seen after a day of filming that Edward Brown has no personality, none. He’s boring, and worse, he’s awkward. His temperamental tendencies don’t come off as touching instead they isolate him from others and show his immaturity. Why Dorrie stuck with Brown I’ll never know, because if it’s one characteristic a documentary filmmaker needs, it’s the ability to adapt, and she just doesn’t adapt. There are numerous other mistakes (don’t expect to be able to read all the titles, because they blend into the background), but my main complaint is the sheer lack of interest and energy How To Cook Your Life generates. If the trailer sparked any sort of interest, I’ll save you the pain and summarize the obvious message: cook your own food, avoid fast food and be a zen-like. Oh, and save your money and go watch something worth your time- like Spiderman 2. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 1- things I already knew: eating fast food will make you fat, monks are peaceful, hippies enjoy being vegan. So why did I have to sit for 2 hours to relearn this? Entertainment: 1- I knew I was in for a bad film when I watching a cat sleep while Edward Brown was talking. Technical: 1- film students will enjoy playing a rousing game of “find the common mistake” throughout Overall: 1- this reminded me of something a freshman film major makes right before his/her final project is due.
 
Format: Theater Year: 2008 Running Time: 100 Min Distributor: Roadside Attractions Producer: Franz X. Gernstl and Fidelis Mager Director: Doris Dorrie Date Reviewed: 1-24-2008 Story: German filmmaker Doris Dorrie documents a summer in the life of renowned Zen practitioner and cook Edward Espe Brown as he teaches culinary classes in Zen centers in Austria and California, revealing the role food plays in our bodies and spirits. Informative, provocative and funny, Brown serves up a unique combination of inspiring wisdom and kitchen skills that will raise even the most demanding foodie to new spiritual and gastronomic heights (NetFlix).