, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Janet McTeer) begin their meal, it becomes clear that there's something else on the menu besides fine dining...
Black comedy and satire are enjoying a moment. It may be that entering into the final stages of capitalism and, consequently, humanity's custody of this planet, has brought about a prevailing sense of nihilism. It could be that we're all just fed up trying to pretend anymore and continuing on with the kind of social niceties and structures isn't worth it. Whatever the reason, 'The Menu' is attempting to speak to the moment.
For starters, many of the characters in 'The Menu' are vague archetypes rather than fully realised beings, and they're pretty obvious ones at that. There's The Finance Bros, The Celebrity, The Critic, The Rich Couple, The Foodie, yet it's Ralph Fiennes' chef towering over all like a vengeful god. He slaps his hands and demands attention from everyone - and gets it.
Beyond these, the cast peters out in terms of effect or impact. John Leguizamo plays a reasonable approximation of every Hollywood celebrity douchebag stereotype you can think of, while the trio of finance bros are as one-dimensional as you'd expect. Janet McTeer and Paul Adelstein are a double-act as a critic and editor, but it's all pretty one-note between them.