First, hats off to “The Bear” creator, Christopher Storer. Single location in a Second City town, except for Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the main cast is largely unknown, and what an amazing world they created. Storer, as creator, showrunner, writer and director, really did an incredible job, and I am excited to see what this very talented creator does next.
The premise is simple. White inherits a beef (“the beef”) sandwich shop in the middle of Chicago, and except for locals, it’s largely unknown. White, it turns out, is a world-class chef. Moss-Bachrach is an Italian front man running the Beef before White takes over, and Moss-Bachrach is killer in this role. It feels like they wrote it for him – from Season 1 through 5, Moss-Bachrach wears the transformation of Richie like a glove. His salty Italian language feels like it was written by someone who mouthed off every day, and it’s hard not to laugh when he calls Neil Fak (played by Matty Matheson) a “(expletive) stroke” – you really can’t make this stuff up.
Which gets me to Neil Fak and Ted Fak (Ricky Staffieri) – these two guys play the comedy relief. Neil and Ted Fak are the sad clowns with a heart that is almost impossible to fake – you either have the heart, or you don’t. And Matheson and Staffieri have it in spades. In Season 5, we witness “The Bear” lifting everyone up, especially the Faks.
Supporting Cast Shines in Season 5
Before getting to the main event, I want to call out the supporting cast. I don’t know how Storer got such an amazing supporting cast – but they are stellar. Jamie Lee Curtis is White’s alcoholic mother, and really the root of everything that is wrong with the family. Bob Odenkirk is her second husband. The show is never really clear about what happened to her first husband and the father of her children, but it really doesn’t matter – between Odenkirk as the step-dad and Oliver Platt as “Unc,” the position is filled in parts, and they both crush it. Both are extremely experienced actors who thrive in the chaos of the Berzatto family – run by the madness of the Curtis matriarchy- chain-smoking Donna Berzatto (Curtis) fills the screen with smoke, angst, abuse and intense pain, and won her an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
If these three rock stars aren’t enough, there’s a cameo from John Cena with the Faks, which you can watch here.
‘The Bear’ Season 5 is a Masterpiece
For good reason, “The Bear” won 21 Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG and Critics’ Choice Awards. The two leads, Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), are outstanding. White’s intensity is well cast as Carmy Berzatto, the youngest of Donna’s children, her favorite and the only one to escape until the suicide of Carmy’s older brother (Mikey), played by an underutilized Jon Bernthal, drags him back into the chaos of the Berzatto family and the Beef.
Sydney starts out as Carmy’s staj ( a short-term culinary internship) but shows her worth quickly. The complexity of Carmen Berzatto is the masterpiece, and it’s impossible not to watch White without imagining him as a real draw for much larger movie and television productions – he steals the screen, and Storer milks his intensity for all its worth.
For more on the Berzatto Family craziness, watch the Seven Fishes scene(below) with pretty much the whole cast – but Curtis is the “fire” and Odenkirk and Platt play amazing supporting roles in the mayhem.
Other players of note are Edwin Lee Gibson, Lionel Boyce, Molly Gordon and Abby Elliot. After binging five seasons in a row, and then rewatching Seasons 1, 3 and 5 again (impossible to put down) its hard to include all of the incredible performances.
Again, credit to Christopher Storer who, with a single location and a great deal of attention to detail, created a masterpiece. I’m late to the game, but if you haven’t seen The Bear yet (apparently 5.4 million people have), then my recommendation is run, don’t walk, to Hulu to watch this incredible show right now – and you’re welcome. I just saved you ten minutes (average time someone spends on their television home screen looking for a show to watch), and this will not disappoint.
