The Menu (2022)

One clap from Ralph Fiennes and a whole dining room goes silent, which is the best special effect of 2022. The problem is who’s sitting at the tables. Finance bros, a snooty critic, a fading movie star: they’re easy to dunk on, and the satire never aims anywhere harder. By the last stretch it’s running on style and a few too many speeches. But the style is real. Every course gets a title card that’s funnier than most comedies, Hong Chau’s Elsa delivers bad news like a hotel concierge, and Nicholas Hoult plays a fan so devoted you want to take his phone away for his own good. Anya Taylor-Joy is the only guest who isn’t impressed, and she’s the reason it works. It made $79.6 million worldwide on a reported $30 million. A 7.2 because it’s sharp, wicked fun about rich people, even if it’s mostly shooting fish in a very expensive barrel. $1,674 says you clap once at dinner tonight to get everyone’s attention, and it does not work.

What works: Ralph Fiennes’s terrifying calm, Hong Chau’s deadpan, and course title cards that land as jokes on their own.

What doesn’t: The satire picks easy targets, and the last act leans on speeches and shock instead of new ideas.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever paid too much for a tiny plate and wondered who the meal was really for.