Eating (1990)

A typical entry in Henry Jaglom's talky oeuvre, Eating features an ensemble cast of Hollywood nobodies exhausting a topic of discussion, and in this case the topic is food. With very little plot, the film follows an intimate cinéma vérité style that suggests the actors are having real conversations at a real birthday party. Most of the attendees are ultra-neurotic actresses and other Southern California party gals, with the exception of the matronly Frances Bergen, who appears to represent the myth of traditional femininity. Talking about food quickly evolves into revealing deep obsessions, eating disorders, and a multitude of personal dissatisfactions. While a pseudo-documentary about women openly discussing body issues could have been interesting, Eating grows old very fast. Jaglom has selected a roomful of privileged, upper-class, mostly white women, and he indulges in every self-depreciating thought they ever had. The point is made very quickly and frequently, accented by moments of sincere humor amidst the psychobabble from wealthy model types complaining about their relationship to food. Although it might seem annoying to some, the film is also strangely fascinating on a voyeuristic level as these women are letting their usually superficial guard down for all to see. Jaglom has a distinct filmmaking style that is surely not for everybody, but those that enjoy peering into the neuroses of others may find Eating to be an interesting social study. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide