Dinner Rush

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Dinner Rush ★★★ 2000 (R)

Louis, owner of a trendy Manhattan restaurant and operator of a bookmaking enterprise, must deal with various problems and people from both of his occupations in one hectic night. His son, Udo has transformed the restaurant from a simple Italian place with his pursuit of nouvelle cuisine fame, two mob guys are trying to muscle him out of the bookie business (having already killed his partner), a snooty gallery owner is hassling his staff, his souschef is piling up gambling debts, and a powerful food critic just walked in the door. Although pic is overstuffed, Giraldi's deft direction, and excellent performances (especially Aiello's) make for a satisfying treat. Successful restauranteur Giraldi filmed in one of his own eateries. 98m/C VHS, DVD . US Danny Aiello, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Mike McGlone, Kirk Acevedo, Sandra Bernhard, Summer Phoenix, Polly Draper, Mark Margolis, John Corbett, Alex Corrado; D: Bob Giraldi; W: Brian Kalata, Rick Shaughnessy; C: Tim Ives; M: Alexander Lasarenko.