THE PICKLE RECIPE – St. Louis Jewish Film Festival Review

Review by Mark Longden

THE PICKLE RECIPE Screens Wednesday, June 7, at 1 PM, Plaza Frontenac Cinema

The St Louis Jewish Film Festival is now in its 22^nd year, and it’s to be commended for bringing so many interesting and stimulating movies to us here in the Midwest. This year has documentaries, dramas, and plenty of comedy too, of which THE PICKLE RECIPE is perhaps the standout.

First up, in case you’re wondering about bias, I love Jon Dore. His Canadian show, a forerunner to “Inside Amy Schumer” (which he guested on), a mix of sketches, standup and interviews with interesting people, was brilliant, and since then he’s appeared in lots of movies and shows and is always hilarious. Here, he’s Joey, a musician / party organiser, who specialises in mitzvahs (both bar and bat), who seems to genuinely love his work.

But, a happy chap doing his job competently makes for a dull comedy, so a wrench is thrown into the works in the shape of a chain of disasters that burns down the hall and destroys all his equipment. He doesn’t have any insurance! And neither does the venue, apparently! With his ex-wife now married to a rich man who wants to buy their daughter’s love, no money and no prospects, things aren’t looking good for Joey, until his shady sad-sack of an Uncle, Morty (David Paymer) suggests a money-making scheme. Joey’s grandmother Rose (St Louis native Lynn Cohen) has a famous recipe for kosher dill pickle which has kept Irv’s Deli in Detroit in business for decades. Morty and Rose don’t get along, so if Joey can steal it, Morty can sell it and both their financial troubles will be over.

It’s the gentlest heist movie of all time. Joey gets a job at the deli, and is slowly accepted as one of the gang by the other staff, learns about his grandmother, her life and (eventually) her recipe. He gets his friend Ted (standup Eric Edelstein) to pretend to be a Rabbi – he isn’t even Jewish – so Rose will trust him enough to give him the recipe. And so on, as he realises his initial plan was perhaps not the best thing. There’s a wonderfully obvious love interest.

There aren’t going to be too many surprises while watching this movie. And that’s part of its charm – much like the pickles at the centre of things, it’s comfort food. Dore makes a fine everyman, and even though he’s doing a bad thing you’re on his side throughout. Edelstein’s performance is absolutely wonderful, completely stealing every scene he’s in, and everyone else does a fine job with what they have too. Although your reviewer is not Jewish, he has the great fortune to be married to one, and there were plenty of nods of recognition throughout. There’s a real warmth to the movie, to the friendships.

Kudos to director Michael Manasseri (who also, trivia fans, acted in 80s classic “Licence To Drive”) and writers Sheldon Cohn and Gary Wolfson, both of whom getting their first writing credit. One assumes it’s a labour of love for everyone involved. It even manages to make Detroit look something other than miserable, so even more kudos.

If you’re going to the St Louis Jewish Film Festival, which I highly recommend, then this one ought to be on your viewing list. Take your family, maybe get any squeamish people to turn away during the scene which is just a close-up of a mouth eating dozens of pickles (it’s really quite gross), and have a splendid evening.