La Cucina is a 2007 American romantic drama film written by A. W. Gryphon. The film stars Christina Hendricks, Joaquim de Almeida, Leisha Hailey, and Rachel Hunter. It was directed by first time directors Allison Hebble & Zed B. Starkovich. The film was scored by Ian Ball from the band Gomez. Although Ball had contributed songs to other films such as the Academy Award winning film American Beauty, this was his first attempt at scoring an entire film.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2010) This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (May 2019)

Quick Facts La Cucina, Directed by ...

La Cucina
Film cover
Directed by	Allison R. Hebble Zed Starkovich
Written by	A. W. Gryphon
Produced by	A. W. Gryphon Zachary Kahn Jackie Olson Crystal Santos Starlotte Dawn Smith
Cinematography	Alan Caudillo
Edited by	Zed Starkovich
Music by	Ian Ball
Distributed by	Anthem Pictures
Release date	October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19) (Hollywood International Film Festival)
Country	United States

Close

The film premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival on October 19, 2007. It won Best Feature at the Beloit International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Backlot Film Festival, and Best Screenplay at the Bragacine International Film Festival in Portugal. A Best Actor nod went to Joaquim de Almeida and a Producers Award to Executive Producer Starlotte Smith at the Bragacine International Film Festival. It was an Official Selection of the La Femme Film Festival and the Portocine International Film Festival, as well as a Special Screening at the Cinema Film Festival. It premiered on Showtime on December 4, 2009. Anthem Pictures released La Cucina on DVD and Blu-ray on January 12, 2010.

A.W. Gryphon also wrote the supernatural novel Blood Moon. Allison Hebble, Zed Starkovich and Starlotte Dawn Smith were all neighbors in West Hollywood. They got to talking one day over a glass of wine and decided to make a movie. They called some friends and less than a year later went into production on La Cucina.

La Cucina is a brief slice of life that is set in present day Los Angeles, on a hot summer evening in a West Hollywood apartment building. An intimate character study, it focuses on three couples and their very different relationships over food and wine. A young writer, Lily (Hendricks), goes on an emotional roller coaster with the much older (17 years) and sophisticated Michael (Almeida). They navigate through a web of exploration on marriage, cheating, babies, and entrapment. In the kitchen above, the very pregnant Shelly (Hailey) is terrified that becoming a mother will drive away her husband and has turned for advice to her lesbian friend Jude (Hunter), sure that this magnificent cook who has been in a long-term relationship has it all figured out. It is revealed that Shelly has her own secrets that fuel her fear and Jude's relationship may not be exactly as it appears. They struggle through—fighting, laughing, crying, cooking & eating—trying to work out what really makes relationships work.

• Christina Hendricks as Lily
• Joaquim de Almeida as Michael
• Leisha Hailey as Shelly
• Rachel Hunter as Jude
• Kala Savage as Raven
• Oz Perkins as Chris
• Michael Cornacchia as Andy
• Clare Carey as Celia

"Move over Julia Child, Christina Hendricks is in the kitchen!"^[1]

"4 stars. La Cucina made me want to grab a bottle of Chianti and start cooking!"^[2]