City of Gold Directed by Laura Gabbert. Rated R. Opens Friday at Regal Village Square.
The first food critic to ever win a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, Jonathan Gold is a major figure in the worlds of food and journalism, and his writing for the LA Times (along with other esteemed publications) is an important barometer of what restaurants in LA are worth checking out. Watching City of Gold, Laura Gabbert’s documentary about Gold, however, you’d think that the writer was practically a god, the single most important person in restaurants, criticism and the very existence of LA. Gold himself is relatively unassuming, but Gabbert props him up with so many slavering interviews from chefs, friends and fellow writers that everything he says or does is placed in the context of unimaginable genius. Obviously the movie is meant to celebrate Gold and his accomplishments, but there’s a way to do that without turning the man into some sort of schlubby journalistic saint.
While the movie may overstate Gold’s brilliance, it’s still a relatively entertaining look at the world of food and food criticism, and Gabbert smartly focuses on the way that Gold’s writing about small ethnic restaurants paints a picture of LA’s cultural diversity. Gold often talks about his love for his hometown, and Gabbert films him traversing the entire city, pointing out the hole-in-the-wall places that he’s discovered and publicized. The movie places Gold on a pedestal, but the critic himself never touts his own importance, instead giving credit to the hard-working men and women who run the restaurants he loves, and who give his beloved city its vibrancy and character.
Gabbert effectively captures the various enclaves that Gold explores, as well as the tantalizing food he eats, and many of her interview subjects are engaging and lively. City is slickly produced and often entertaining, but it’s not nearly as deep as it makes its subject out to be. In his writing, Gold makes unfamiliar cuisine vivid and exciting, but Gabbert fails to do the same for her film’s subject.
