Wolfgang

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Wolfgang
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Wolfgang is a fast-paced documentary about the celebrity chef that's appropriate for most ages, but will likely be most interesting to older kids and adults. Adults drink wine at restaurant meals. In interviews and dramatizations, Wolfgang Puck recalls an abusive stepfather, but details of the abuse are thin beyond the man calling the boy "lazy" and "good for nothing," and coming home drunk then sending him out to the forest to pick out a stick (presumably to be hit with, though this isn't stated). These scenes, and a dramatization where a teen boy visualizes Puck at that age standing on a bridge and contemplating "ending it all," could worry young viewers. There's no swearing, though Puck says when he left home he was trying to escape "hell." He didn't want to look back, but he missed his grandmother's death in 1970 while away. Otherwise, Puck's work ethic and career are inspiring. He's a model of perseverance and following one's passion to find success, purpose, and joy in life.
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What's the Story?
WOLFGANG tells the story of legendary chef Wolfgang Puck, from humble beginnings in Austria to opening the hottest restaurant in Hollywood in the 1980s. Along the way, Puck launched the "celebrity chef" moniker by forging a beloved public persona invited to all the top television shows and featured in magazines and newspapers. He's also often credited with creating the concept of farm-fresh California cuisine. Family members, friends, business partners, colleagues, journalists, and others talk about Puck's history, his work ethic, and what it took for him to overcome traumatic childhood experiences and find the success that built him into a recognizable brand with products across grocery store shelves and more than 100 restaurants to his name.
Is It Any Good?
Wolfgang Puck looks back at his own life in this documentary, providing moments of insight but also the sense that ends have been tied up a smidge too neatly. In Wolfgang, director David Gelb combines first-hand interviews with clips, mostly from the height of Puck's fame in the 1980s and '90s, and photographs from his early years. The footage and memories of how popular his Hollywood restaurant Spago was in that era are great fun. The floor manager recalls reading The Hollywood Reporter daily so she could seat people according to their changing status in the business. Puck tells the star-oriented origin stories of some of his best-known dishes, like a smoked salmon pizza created on the spot for Joan Collins or his frozen pizza line, inspired by Johnny Carson's take-out orders. The documentary makes a clever move as well by using footage of cities from specific eras when it talks about the past.
Gelb also follows the Austria-born Puck on a visit back to his hometown to see his sister and revisit scenes from his childhood. These segments are woven in and out with the high points of his career, keeping the film from getting bogged down in too much past darkness. Some of his memories are dramatized with a young figure walking through places and events Puck recalls, including a moment as a teen when he stood on a bridge and contemplated suicide. Dramatizations like this can rub some viewers the wrong way, but they do stick in the memory and complement the other forms of storytelling here. Now in his 70s, Puck is contemplative, reflecting on mistakes made, what drove him to the success he had, and what he now considers priority. Some of these conclusions feel a bit too tidy, too one-sided. You wonder what you're not being told. But fans of Puck and the culture of celebrity chefs in general will enjoy this retrospective of a landmark career and a moment in time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the chef's view of his own life has changed over time, as seen in Wolfgang. What has Puck learned about himself, and how have his priorities shifted as a man now in his 70s?
Had you heard of the celebrities mentioned in the footage of Spago in the 1980s? Where could you go for more information about this time period and its celebrity culture?
How does Puck embody the spirit of perseverance? What did he mean when he said he realized the childhood experiences that had caused him so much pain might actually have helped make him stronger? Have you ever learned or grown stronger from difficult experiences?
What did you think of the flashback sequences in Austria, when the camera seemed to go out of focus or an actor portrayed some of Puck's own memories?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 25, 2021
- Cast: Wolfgang Puck, Christine Puck
- Director: David Gelb
- Studio: Disney+
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Cooking and Baking
- Character Strengths: Perseverance
- Run time: 78 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
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