Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (2021) Movie Review
I still remember in 2018, when I heard about Anthony Bourdain’s death. I was with a friend eating lunch. I knew of Bourdain of course, and my friend and I discussed his career and famous television series Parts Unknown. His death was made even more curious and (sickeningly) interesting because it was revealed he had taken his own life. Bourdain was uber successful and seemed to have a great life. I wondered what he was like as a person and what had prompted him to make that final decision.
Roadrunner takes a long and introspective look at Bourdain’s life beginning with his time as executive chef at Les Halles in NYC. He became executive chef there in 1998 and continued working quietly for years. In 2000 he released his memoir Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly which became a huge hit. The only reason he wrote the book is because a friend’s wife was in publishing and thought Bourdain’s thoughts would make an interesting story. It was at this point in the documentary that I wondered, “Why can’t anything like that ever happen to me?” I digress. The success of the book brought a husband and wife team, Lydia Tenaglia and Christopher Collins, calling for Bourdain intent on creating a television show to ride the coattails of the book’s success. This led to a string of popular shows featuring Bourdain including No Reservations and the more recent hit Parts Unknown.
Bourdain became even more well known as he began to travel around the world meeting the locals and sampling food. A large majority of the film centers around this growing fame and celebrity status. His first marriage to Nancy Putkoski lasted twenty years but crumbled as his fame grew. His second marriage to Ottavia led to the birth of his daughter Ariane but his stardom got in the way of that marriage too. Roadrunner dives into these two relationships but there is a focus on his third and final long term relationship with Asia Argento. Asia and Anthony’s relationship was complicated and many attribute the rocky nature of it to Anthony’s eventual suicide. Director Morgan Neville shies away from blatantly blaming Asia for Anthony’s death but it is highly insinuated. Archival footage shows Bourdain acting differently when Asia comes into his life and even making changes to the show that he would never have made before. The portion of Bourdain’s life that involves Asia is only shown for the last bit of the movie and is used to coincide with the re-telling of his last few weeks alive.
There were so many aspects of Bourdan’s life that I wasn’t aware of and Roadrunner shines a light on them. Bourdain was a heroin addict and you can see throughout the movie that he swaps out one addiction for another. One interviewee suggests that Asia was just another addiction that Bourdain had to contend with. The interviewees vary and include Tenaglia and Collins, chef and close friend Eric Ripert, musician Josh Homme, chef David Chang, artist David Choe, and his second wife Ottavia. A variety of the crew of Bourdain’s television shows are also interviewed shedding insight on how he worked and what he was like as a person.
What Roadrunner did very well was to show Bourdain as a person and not just a celebrity. Archival footage and commentary was used to highlight certain times in his life and you got a fairly complete view of his outlook on life and what he was hoping to achieve during his lifetime. You also get a look at Bourdain’s flaws which Neville does not shy away from. Although they don’t highlight the heavy drug use, Neville includes commentary from those closest to Bourdain regarding his addictive personality and the vices he used to cope in life. This two hour snapshot of Bourdain’s life gives you a look into the fascinating inner world of a man who was so much more than a top tier chef.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You liked any of Bourdain’s television shows
2. You liked Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential
3. You’re interested in the quest for meaning and zeal in life
