Now that the last episode of the final season of “The Bear” has aired, foodies and other folks will be hungry for more chef-inspired fare.  Matt Johnson’s “Tony” (A24), a biopic about a life-changing summer for the late chef Anthony Bourdain, should satisfy some of those cravings.

In 1975, when Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) was enrolled in college at Vassar, his intention was to put his overactive imagination to use and become a writer, leading him to apply for a writing fellowship. After learning he didn’t receive the fellowship, Tony was determined to give the impression that he had to his parents, supportive Dominic (Rich Sommer) and suspicious Gladys (Dagmara Domińczyk).

Then Tony has an unexpected interaction with Nancy (Emilia Jones, who starred in the queer movie “Fairyland”), a former high school classmate on whom he had a crush. Nancy, who also attends Vassar, tells him she’s going to Provincetown for the summer. Next thing you know, Tony’s on the ferry to Ptown!

Already struggling with alcohol abuse, Tony gets tossed out of restaurant and bar The Flagship by the owner Chef (Antonio Banderas) and his assistant Sal (Leo Woodall) after harassing bartender Mary (out actor Monica Raymund). Tony attempts to make amends with Chef. He is hired to wash dishes in exchange for sleeping in a hammock on Chef’s beachside deck. Punctuated by being awakened every morning by Chef dousing him with a bucket of cold ocean water, Tony’s days are filled with pursuing Nancy (who is serving slices of pizza at Spiritus and also sleeping with her boss), washing dishes, and drinking, snorting coke, and scoring heroin with Sal.

Eventually, an opportunity to assist Chef in food prep arises and, despite slicing open his hand while shucking an oyster, he proves himself to be more than capable. That is until his response to a kitchen fire, on the night he hoped to impress Nancy with his kitchen skills (while still maintaining the lie that he is writing a book), proves to be catastrophic.

To his credit, the young Sessa does an admirable job of representing the multiple aspects of Bourdain’s complicated personality, from smoldering to pathological and from addicted to ambitious. Banderas, Jones, and Woodall also fully embody each of their characters.

Keep in mind, what we see onscreen is the “straight” side of Ptown. Sure, there are men making out on the steps of Spiritus Pizza and same gender couples strolling down Commercial Street. There is even a suggestion that Mary is a lesbian when she shows up at the clambake fundraiser with a woman carrying a baby. 

Rating: B