The coming-of-age biopic Tony, directed by Matt Johnson, tells the story of the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain during his formative summer working in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1975.
The film stars Dominic Sessa as the 19-year-old Bourdain alongside Emilia Jones as Nancy Putkoski, his high school crush and eventual first wife. The script draws from Bourdain's 2000 bestselling memoir Kitchen Confidential to depict his earliest days in restaurant kitchens.
While fans have praised the film as a tribute to the chef, who died by suicide in 2018, his longtime assistant Laurie Woolever expressed strong opposition to the public dissection of his life. Writing an article for Bon Appétit titled "I Think Tony Would Have Hated This," Woolever noted that Bourdain would have disapproved of the movie.
Director Matt Johnson, who previously directed BlackBerry, admitted that the film takes creative liberties with historical events. "I wasn't gonna let facts get in the way of the truth," Johnson told Entertainment Weekly regarding his approach to the biopic.
Summer Pursuit in Cape Cod
In the film, Bourdain travels to Cape Cod for the summer in pursuit of Putkoski. The real Bourdain did travel to Provincetown during his summer breaks while studying at Vassar College, a liberal arts college in New York state.
Bourdain acknowledged the trip in Kitchen Confidential, though he remained brief about his motivations. "In 1973, unhappily in love, I graduated high school a year early so I could chase the object of my desire to Vassar College - the less said about that part of my life, the better, believe me," he wrote.
Bourdain also noted that his friends joined him on the trip to Cape Cod. "It was what my friends were doing, and that was enough for me," he wrote in his memoir.
Seafood Restaurant Job
The movie depicts Bourdain taking a job as a dishwasher at a seafood restaurant named the Flagship, matching his real-life entry into the restaurant industry.
The film dramatises his hiring by showing him getting heavily intoxicated at the bar after a difficult encounter with Putkoski. After staff throw him out, the owner of the Flagship takes pity on him and offers him a job.
In reality, Bourdain simply needed money, and his friends helped him secure the position. "Dishwashers.. were the most transient breed in the seasonal restaurant business, so when one goofball failed to show up for work for two days, I was in," Bourdain recalled in his book.
Spiritus Pizza Scenes
The film portrays Putkoski working at a local pizza shop during the summer, a detail confirmed to be accurate by the film crew.
Production crew members filmed the pizza shop scenes on location at Spiritus Pizza in Provincetown. Location manager Charlie Harrington confirmed that Putkoski worked at the pizzeria during the summer of 1975.
"We shot it at the real place, and I learned as I was making the movie that Nancy actually worked at Spiritus Pizza that summer in real life," Harrington said. He added that Bourdain used to sleep on top of the walk-in cooler in the back of the pizzeria after befriending the owner before eventually marrying Putkoski.
During the opening weekend of Tony, the official Instagram account for Spiritus Pizza also confirmed that Bourdain's girlfriend worked at the establishment during that summer.
Inspiration in the Kitchen
One notable scene in Tony features Sal, a brash Flagship employee played by Leo Woodall, who acts as both a bully and mentor to the young chef.
In the film, Sal asks Bourdain to watch his station before disappearing with a bride during a reception. Bourdain and other kitchen workers look through a back window and witness Sal having sex with the bride in her wedding gown while the groom and guests dine inside.
Bourdain confirmed in Kitchen Confidential that this encounter actually took place, though the real employee was a head chef named Bobby, whom Bourdain described as "a well-toasted, late-thirtyish ex-hippie." Bourdain identified that exact moment as the event that inspired him to pursue a career as a professional chef.
The Sáuté Pan Incident
Another scene in the movie shows Bourdain burning his hands on a hot sauté pan and asking Tyrone, a line cook working the broiler, for bandages and burn cream.
In the film, Tyrone embarrasses Bourdain by picking up the scorching hot pan with his bare hands without flinching. Bourdain recounted the same event in his book, writing: "I watched, transfixed, as Tyrone - his eyes never leaving mine - reached slowly under the broiler and, with one naked hand, picked up a glowing-hot sizzle-platter, moved it over to the cutting board, and set it down in front of me. He never flinched."
Bourdain wrote that he was left feeling like a "loudmouthed, useless little punk" and noted he was called "Mel," meaning bad meat in Italian, for weeks afterwards. However, when Johnson interviewed the real Tyrone during pre-production, Tyrone disputed Bourdain's account.
"Yeah, Tony picked up the pan and burned his hand, but I did not pick it up with my bare hands," Tyrone told the director. "I got a towel, picked it up, and put it away. I have no idea why Tony said that I picked it up with my bare hand. That's insane. I would never do that."
Culinary Mentors and Movie Release
Actor Antonio Banderas plays a character named Chef, who serves as a mentor to Bourdain throughout the film.
The character is based on a real-life mentor Bourdain referred to as Bigfoot in Kitchen Confidential. Although Bourdain did not meet Bigfoot until he attended culinary school years later, Johnson intentionally included him in the Provincetown timeline.
"I took everything from that guy, because he so clearly creates Bourdain," Johnson said. "I look at Bourdain, I read Bourdain, and I go, 'This guy is just 50 percent these pirates he met in the kitchens at Provincetown and 50 percent Bigfoot…And I don't think that that's a simplistic reduction of him, by the way. I actually think that makes for the legendary, heroic, traveling figure that we all love.'"
Bourdain went on to become one of the most celebrated culinary figures of his generation, earning eight Emmy awards for his travel series Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown before his death in 2018. The film Tony is currently playing in theaters.
