“THE BEAR – SEASON 3” (Hulu)
Liza Colon-Zayas, Jeremy Allen White
Some of the early reviews of the latest season of “The Bear” were so pissy I delayed watching the new episodes lest I find myself in a blue funk of disappointment.
Happy to say that the reports of the show’s demise were premature.
Not just premature, but spectacularly off base.
Okay, I get that viewers who demand heavy plotting and forward momentum are going to be a bit disappointed. Not all that much happens in a narrative sense this season.
The relationship of sad-eyed Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) with pediatrician Claire (Molly Gordon), whom he more or less dumped last time out? Barely addressed.
The radical transformation of the family’s seedy sandwich shop into a high-end restaurant? Pretty much completed…mostly now just a case of settling in.
The maturation of the sad sack screwup Ritchie (Evan Moss-Bachrach) into a motivated, hard-working maitre d? Been there, done that.
There are crises, of course. Carmy is so hellbent on making his restaurant stand out that he insists on changing the menu every freaking day, pretty much guaranteeing kitchen chaos and a level of employee discontent.
(By the way…Carmy is so disturbingly moody this time around that he practically becomes a ghost in the background.)
The joint is yet to get an official review from the critics, and everyone is on pins and needles waiting for that make-or-break moment.
Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), who financed the new operation, is getting nervous about ever getting any of his money back what with Carmy’s spendthrift quest for excellence.
And No. 2 chef Sydney (Aye Edebiri) has drawn the attention of another restauranteur who wants to make her his partner…with a huge raise, pension and medical benefits. Will she strike out on her own or stick with Carmy and his manic-but-mostly-depressive mood swings?
In lieu of sweeping drama (or comedy…the Emmy people insist on categorizing “The Bear” as a comedy even though it exhibits a dramatic soul unequaled by virtually any other series) the scripts by creator Christopher Storer delve deep into the personalities of the characters…characters about whom most of us care more than we do about our own neighbors.
And entire episode is devoted to the backstory of the hot-tempered Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) detailing how her desperate search for a job — any job — found her being taken under the wing of Carmy’s brother Michael (Jon Bernthal).
Evan Moss-Bachrach, Abby Elliott
Another episode follows sister Sugar (Abby Elliott) into labor. Shot almost entirely in close-ups in a hospital delivery room, the segment is once again rocketed into the stratosphere by the hovering presence of her and Carmy’s borderline nuts mother (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Even the oafish Fak brothers (Ricky Staffieri, Matty Matheson) are revealed to have soulful depths beneath their street-corner slob exteriors.
But throughout the season we are treated to a dozen or so conversations between characters that usually start out as casual encounters but end up leaving us immersed in the depths of their personalities. Think you know everything about these folks? There’s plenty yet to discover.
And the final episode is nothing short of a heartfelt valentine to the men and women of the restaurant business.
One of Chicago’s most acclaimed chefs (she’s played by the brilliant Olivia Colman…we met her briefly last season) is calling it quits and invites all of her fellow chefs from across the city to her restaurant on closing night.
The segment is populated with real Chicago chefs. We eavesdrop on conversations and reminiscences. Funny stories are told. A long-simmering enmity reaches a near-flash point.
It’s often amusing, but also achingly bittersweet. The restaurant business often gets a bad rap — horrible hours, fierce pressure, addictions and anger — but by the time this season wraps up you’re left with a feeling of deep respect for the people who have made it their life’s work to feed the rest of us.
All together now: “Yes, Chef!!!!!”
| Robert W. Butler
Butler's Cinema Scene 
Great, on-point review. Kudos for waiting until the initial wave of consensus pass, so you could form your own judgement. This season does make the viewer a bit claustrophobic and you note that the storylines don’t advance a lot. But then, that’s life sometimes. The show does a great job of reflecting the inconsistencies, weirdness and uncertainties of our everyday lives, even folks who are masters of the culinary arts.