Burnt - C-

Rated PG, 105 minutes

The sluggish, flavorless new culinary drama "Burnt" starring Bradley Cooper as a douche-bag chef and directed by John Wells ("The West Wing" creator) is peppered with a few compelling moments, though lacking in freshness and real bite. Adam Jones (Cooper) is a Chef who destroyed his career with drugs and diva behavior. He cleans up and returns to London, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars. Directed by Wells and written by "Eastern Promises" Steven Knight, the handsome and likable "Burnt" has a vacuous appeal and Cooper's eye candy going for it, but it has the calculated spark of a late night McDonald's drive-thru. Cooper is solid as the jerky, bad boy chef trying to make his way, but the uneven script veers off in too many unsatisfactory side dishes i.e. cliched subplots, including some old debts and a new romance, that tend to hamper its predictable finale. As a three-course meal, "Burnt's" appetizer is intriguing, the main course is unfocused, and its dessert rather unsatisfying; it wants to offer something different but serves up the same, stale plot twists that give little depth to this meal overall. Cooper handles it well, but the rest of the talented cast isn't as effective, as he's reunited with his lovely "American Sniper" wife Sienna Miller in the weakest aspect of the movie, an empty, unexplained romance that hurts the movie; Daniel Bruhl ("Rush") in another of the film's unfortunate subplots; Uma Thurman and Oscar-winner Emma Thompson misused in small, underwritten parts, and the most memorable, "The Americans" Matthew Rhys as his rival chef. At least one thing that "Burnt" does get right its most memorable aspect: those delectable real dishes that chef Cooper and his team serve up in the restaurant, which look much more appetizing than the popcorn and candy you'll munch on during the film. Unsavory and unsatisfying, the bland "Burnt," in spite of its likable appeal (and for some, that appeal - Cooper - is enough to engage them), leaves a disappointing aftertaste. Here's your generous tip for this meal: skip it for something far more interesting.