'Tony' Review: Matt Johnson's Anthony Bourdain Coming-of-Age Origin Flick is a Delicious Crowd-Pleasing Meal
When Matt Johnson adapts anything resembling true events or real people, it’s clear he’s disinterested in falling into the confines of a biopic’s conventionality. If there’s anything that DIY, freewheeling, rebellious Canadian fair‑use‑director is going to do, it’s play against type. It’s what made his breezy BlackBerry so electrifying, and one of my favorite films of 2023. Fresh off Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Tony is a major directorial turn for Johnson. He adapts a few chapters from Anthony Bourdain’s prolific memoir Kitchen Confidential, in which he reflects on being a snot‑nosed little shit getting his ass rocked before becoming THE Anthony Bourdain. Instead of following the [Will Smith voice] Wiki‑Wiki‑pedia model common in contemporary biopics, Johnson and his co‑writers (Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels, and Lou Howe) serve up a timely but traditional summer coming‑of‑age story.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of A24
MPA Rating: R (for pervasive language, drug use, and sexual content/nudity.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 46 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: A24, Star Thrower Entertainment, Zapruder Films, Live Free or Die Films
Distributor: A24
Director: Matt Johnson
Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels, Lou Howe
Cast: Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall, Dagmara Dominczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, Michael Jibrin, Caroline Portu, Monica Raymund
U.S Release Date: August 7, 2026 (Limited), August 21, 2026 (Wide)
In 1975, 19‑year‑old aspiring writer Anthony “Tony” Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) is a snappy, overconfident hotshot – but realistically, a douchebag loser with rage issues. He’s still hung up on his former high school crush Nancy (Emilia Jones), a photographer. After trying to impress her at a bar, he learns she’s spending the summer in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Back home, he’s undermined by his coddling father (Rich Sommer) and disapproving mother (Dagmara Domińczyk). When he doesn’t get the writers’ scholarship he wanted and can’t stand his parents’ constant bickering, he impulsively runs away from his New Jersey suburbs to Provincetown. With no real plan and looking like a stalker creep, he stumbles into a seaside restaurant in a drunken haze. Out of kindness, the owner chef (Antonio Banderas) takes him in, letting him stay in a beachside hammock and work as a dishwasher. As a dishwasher and his first real job, he befriends his womanizing, reckless coworker Sal (Leo Woodall). Throughout the summer, Tony is challenged to shed his insecurities as his first real job throws him out of the frying pan and into the fire – a summer that shaped him from Tony into Anthony Bourdain.
Johnson's warmest film yet understands that manhood is earned, not performed.
(L-R) Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas Credit: Seacia Pavao
Working off Richard Linklater’s cookbook, Johnson dishes out the best movie Linklater didn’t make this decade. In visual style, tone, and structure, Tony is an entertaining, warm, hangout flick that feels spiritually aligned with Dazed and Confused and Everybody Wants Some!! – with traces of Doc Hollywood.
Against his prior works, Johnson’s direction on Tony is more traditionally framed while occasionally borrowing BlackBerry’s vérité cues. The frequent use of over‑the‑shoulder shots might feel repetitive to some, but they serve the film’s quiet theme of respect, underscoring how important one’s look is to one’s sense of belonging. One of the best scenes is shared between Sessa and a delightfully charming Emilia Jones; all movie, he persists to get with Nancy and in his first moment of vulnerability, he tells her, “I like how I feel when you look at me.”
Beyond that, the film is simply stunning. One Battle After Another’s DP Michael Bauman shapes a picturesque vision of Provincetown that you can almost smell through the screen. Tony is so viscerally immersive you’ll want to jump right in and live there forever. Bauman captures a tender, whimsical, breezy joy of summer – from gorgeous shots of people hanging out on the shore to eye‑savoring seafood that’ll make you crave a lobster roll – with a vibe that makes the seaside ambiance pulsate off the screen. All of this is beautifully complemented by Jay McCarrol’s gorgeous original score, which amplifies the film’s whimsical and melancholic cues without ever overstepping. Plus, the music supervision is great. The needle drops are extremely effective; one use of Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven” during a fiery turning point made me want to stand up and cheer.
Tony’s secret ingredient is its pitch-perfect ensemble.
(L-R) Dominic Sessa, Emilia Jones Credit: Seacia Pavao
Following The Holdovers, Dominic Sessa firmly cements himself as a leading star capable of carrying a film. He channels the same hotheaded youthful rebelliousness of Angus Tully, but shrouds it in sheer loserdom. Yet no matter how detestable Bourdain becomes, Sessa translates the broken loneliness through deep stares, texturing his growth with genuine triumph. He also sheds some Matt Johnson‑isms; when bewildered, he goes wide‑eyed and frantically bobs his head. Much of the film sees him longing for someone to look at him with respect.
I’ll be so real: I never completely “got” Leo Woodall’s appeal. I think he’s fairly talented, but there’s something I can’t articulate that never fully sold me. As the reckless Sal, whose best and worst attributes are like your right-brain personified, he steals every second on screen. Within the brotherly rapport he shares with Tony, Woodall struts with magnetizing swagger and a sleazeball persona. His douchey line deliveries and no‑miss shots at women, contrasted with Bourdain’s floundering, always got a laugh.
What gives the film its protein is the budding mentor‑student relationship between Antonio Banderas and Sessa. Banderas is simply excellent, operating on his signature charm, evoking the strict, caring discipline of Mr. Miyagi and the softness and cooking passion of Ratatouille’s Auguste Gusteau. Tony ever so often gets a taste of reality, and Chef’s methods of disciplining him – throwing water in his face every morning, giving him cooking tricks – force him to grapple with his fragile insecurity. The dynamic is familiar, yes, but Sessa and Banderas’ chemistry is a chef’s kiss.
Tony embraces convention without losing its charm.
(L-R) Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas Credit: Seacia Pavao
Tony isn’t reinventing the wheel by any means. It’s straightforward, playing the hits of every summer-set coming-of-age film you’ve seen. Yeah, at times the conventionality renders it a little stale, especially given how narratively daring Johnson has been in his prior works. The movie does have its fair share of prequel/origin tropes and foreshadowing that made me audibly groan. But the writers work to have him care about a real job, the community, and a personable lifestyle, serving as great character development that illustrates Bourdain’s path to his career in a mostly natural and heartfelt way. What it lacks in freshness, it makes up for with genuine warmth and a delightful energy that I couldn’t stop smiling at.
Last Statement
Sincere, cozy, warm, and all anchored by a winning Dominic Sessa performance, Matt Johnson’s Tony is proof that you don’t need to change a great old recipe to deliver a delicious dish.
