Pretty Good

Great Film overall

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

In my field of writing studies, a concept called "sponsorship" (Brandt) is infamous. This concept speaks to the phenomenon by which structural, institutional, and often invisible forces give access to literate resources to some, while denying it to others (and the "sponsors," who are not individuals, but rather institutions, corporations, etc.) benefit from their sponsorship in some way. This film, better than any other I've ever seen, demonstrates how sponsorship works.CCAP, a culinary organization of sorts, awards college scholarships to inner-city high-schoolers who exhibit culinary skill by winning in local cooking competitions. This film traces one set of resource-poor inner city youth who, over the course of their high school careers, take a culinary course with a demanding, over-bearing teacher who trains them for this competition (typically with much success, and in the film, you find out exactly how much money this program earns for the kids). CCAP provides the means by which kids can escape their situations, and in the process, earns it own monetary, tax, and charitable rewards.The film itself does not discuss sponsorship. However, it shatters myths about inner-city youth being too lazy, uneducated, or dumb to succeed in life, and instead shows just how much resource-poor kids have to do to reap the same rewards as those who are resource-rich. These kids get up at 5 a.m. to work in the school's kitchen, are asked to train in the kitchen from 5 a.m.-til the end of the day during their Spring Breaks, work on the weekends and after school, play on sports teams, and still have to earn high enough grades to stay in the culinary arts course, which is only offered to the top students in the school in which the course is offered.I don't agree with the previous viewer that this film lags in the middle. It is a tense, moving, compelling, and often tear-jerking film that will grip you and teach you a lot about the world we live in.I highly recommend that any teacher who reads this review runs out and purchases the film immediately. I use it in most of the courses I teach, especially when I want to get at issues of racism and privilege.

It gets a little lost and repetitive in the middle, but this uplifting documentary of inner-city kids competing for scholarships to culinary colleges packs an emotional wallop, and manages to be truly inspiring without being sappy. It's also full of wonderful characters, starting with their teacher, a sort of drill sergeant with a heart. This is the kind of teacher every kid needs – one who isn't afraid to be tough as nails, but underneath is flowing over with love for 'her kids'. She's quirky, odd, unpredictable, and you can see that her students adore her. The students too are a fascinating bunch, from the huge football player who really puts his all into his cooking, to the recent immigrant from a poverty stricken village in Africa who sees America as a land of opportunity in a way very few of us born here can. A lovely film with a sense of humor and a great message.

Pressure Cooker was charming, heartwarming, funny, sad, deeply moving and joyous.I was clapping and crying (tears of joy)for the students and their wonderful teacher at the and of the movie. I just loved this film. I feel like these kids are in my heart now and I want all the best for them always. I would love to know what happens to the group as they head off to college and beyond.The strength and determination of these kids was inspiring to me. The strength and determination of their teacher was just as inspiring. I would watch it again and I will definitely recommend this film. Thumbs WAY up!

My wife and I saw "Pressure Cooker" last night at the Starz Denver International Film Festival. At first, I was afraid I was going to hate it, due to the shaky camera work. But as the story unfolded, I was drawn in. And by the end of it, I was crying with the rest of the audience.This was the director's first documentary film, and thanks to some interesting characters and excellent editing, she's put together something fantastic.The film follows the lives of a strict but loving teacher of culinary arts in an inner city high school in Philadelphia, and a half dozen of her students. In an area where most kids don't have a lot of opportunities, these kids are learning to be professional cooks and competing for a few scholarships to big name culinary schools around the US. Their stories are all interesting and varied, and by the end you get a real sense that the students and the teacher have quite a bond. And of course you're rooting for them all to get scholarships.The story telling is awesome, the sound was surprisingly good, and the editing was top notch. My only complaint - and the only thing keeping me from giving this a 10/10 rating - was that the filmmaker didn't bother using any steadicam. Nearly all the shots are hand held. On a TV you probably wouldn't notice, but on a big screen it's a little distracting.