FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD
Most of us like to eat well. (A glimpse in a full-length mirror rather distressingly confirms this). Here are some excellent movies featuring glorious, mouth-watering food. Do not watch any of these on an empty stomach!
In Babette’s Feast (1987) two very religious spinsters take in a young maid (Stephane Audran). She is able to show her love, and bring tears to the eyes of the most Whopper-hardened junk food freak, by preparing a wondrous meal. A lovely, simple movie that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The feast is to die for. 
Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci are Italian-American brothers who own a classy (and failing) restaurant. Shalhoub is the perfectionist, no-compromise chef and Tucci is the more business-like manager who wants to lighten up and attract more customers. A banquet for Louis Prima and his band is to be their Big Night (1995). The preparation of this sumptuous meal consumes (!) almost the whole film. Not without serious moments, but lots of fun. 
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) is about a Chinese master chef whose three unmarried daughters still live at home. Everyone has difficulty expressing affection by any other means than the preparation and serving of incredible meals. Wry touches (the chef has lost his sense of taste; one of the daughters works at Wendy’s) add to the enjoyment. But the food is the real star. An underappreciated jewel.
In Tom Jones (1963) , Tony Richardson brings Henry Fielding’s wry and raunchy story of English life in the 1700's to glorious flower. It won a passel of prizes, 
 including the Oscar for Best Picture. The food scene between Albert Finney and Joyce Redman is the sexiest one ever filmed. It puts romantic dining in a whole new light.
The magical Like Water For Chocolate (1993) is about the youngest of three daughters condemned to stay home and look after Mama. Her thwarted love is expressed through cooking, and ,Lord, can she cook. Delicious movie. 
The search for the perfect noodle to save a floundering cafe is the hilarious background for the weird and wonderful Tampopo (1986). Not for all tastes; you’ll know in the first 20 minutes.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. None are really suitable for children under 10 because they wouldn’t like them. Bon appetit!

                                                  GEORGE AXELROD
Young folks today (okay, anyone under 60) weren’t around when the Motion Picture Code forbade nudity, sex and dirty words. Now we have the ratings system and most anything goes. A few screen writers became expert at working around the Code and pushing it to its limit. Nobody was better at this than George Axelrod.
Three Axelrod screenplays were based on his own stage plays, and the best known of these is The Seven Year Itch (1955).  Though watered down quite a bit from the stage version, it features a bewildered Tom Ewell smitten with an impossibly sexy Marilyn Monroe, and is still lots of fun. This movie contains the famous MM “blown skirt” scene.
Phhht! (1954) is another Axelrod stage play become screenplay and features incredibly young Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon as a divorced couple who discover they made a terrible mistake- not when they married but when they split!
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) is the final George Axelrod stage play to screenplay and is probably the best. Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, Betsy Drake and Groucho Marx (!) join in a spirited and humorous send-up of advertising, sex and morals. This film is still really funny and dead-on lots of targets.
Mr. Axelrod was also expert at adapting the works of other writers for the silver screen. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is still as good a thriller as was ever made, with Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey and a not-so-loveable Angela Lansbury in a real nail biter. Mr. Harvey has been programmed by the North Koreans as an assassin and Mr. Sinatra tries to deprogram him before he acts. Beware the cheesy 2004 remake!
Truman Capote’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) features the elegant and effervescent Audrey Hepburn as the delightfully off-the-wall Holly Golightly, a stranger in a Manhattan paradise. The late Buddy Ebsen has a minor role and if I tell you who he plays it would spoil it for you. George Axelrod won the Oscar for his sparkling screenplay. 
William Inge’s Bus Stop (1956) has Don Murray as a lonesome cowboy absolutely besotted by saloon singer Marilyn Monroe (who really gets to act up a storm in this). He decides to marry her but sort of forgets to ask her first. 
Lord Love A Duck (1966) is an extremely dark comedy starring Roddy McDowell as, perhaps, Satan since he is able to grant all of the wishes of teenager Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld). The wishes and their granting get further and further out until the ending you won’t see coming. This movie is somewhat dated, but still a lot of fun. 
All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for ages 10 and up.