Entertainment
A self-described "two parts baking contest, one part hot mess," Netflix's Nailed It! magically transforms Pinterest-perfect sour grapes into delicious schadenfreude as sub-amateur "bakers" remake edible masterpieces for cash prizes and bragging rights. The feel-good reality series about baking bad has laughs, sarcasm, competition, plenty of screw-ups, and it just wrapped up its second season. Fear not, the show's already been picked up for a third, but if you just can't wait until the fall to catch even more cooking chicanery, here are 13 movies to watch if you love Nailed It! that'll satisfy your sweet n' sour tooth.
These films mostly center around food, but a few focus more on the well-meaning amateurs that just can't get it together, like What We Do In The Shadows' awkward vampire trio sharing an apartment, or The Lobster's singles painfully trying to pair off, hunt escapees, or face mandatory animal transformation. Some manage both, like Eating Raoul's chaste married couple who turn to luring and murdering fetish-obsessed clients to fund their dream of opening a bed and breakfast, or Meals on Wheels' expert food truck team up who bumble into amateur detective and rescue work when they get tangled up with a mysterious young woman.
Consider this a sampler platter of the kind of sarcastic, sweet, horrifying and hilarious results Nailed It! is known for, and before you know it, whip-smart host Nicole Byer will be back to deliver more of the same.
1
'Tampopo'
A tale of ramen ronin training a student to become a master bookends chapters of the joys and horrors of food in every form in this comedy masterpiece. Have a snack handy; you can't watch it without feeling hungry.
Available on FilmStruck.
2
'The God Of Cookery'
This over-the-top tale from the director of Shaolin Soccer follows an egotistic chef starting over from scratch with the help of street vendors. Betrayal, kung-fu, secret weapons, cooking fails and ultimate perfection; you need to see this.
Not Available Streaming.
3
'Strictly Ballroom'
A young man who's lived and breathed ballroom dancing teams up with a timid novice in Baz Luhrmann's tale of dance intrigue.
Available on Netflix.
4
'Eating Raoul'
In this cartoonishly dark tale, a husband/wife team take on the distasteful task of luring and murdering fetishists, then making cash off the bodies with the help of hustling handyman Raoul.
Available on on Kanopy and FilmStruck.
5
'Like Water For Chocolate'
Food usually elicits emotion on its own, but in this magical tale the emotions of lovelorn Tita get baked into the results, affecting everyone around her in this tale of star-crossed loves.
Available on Netflix.
6
'Wheels On Meals'
Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao are a winning food truck team, but when they help out a mysterious young woman, the deliveries they make might be their last.
Available on Amazon Prime.
7
'What We Do In The Shadows'
Directed and co-starring Taika Waititi as one of three (well, four-ish) vampire roommates, this film gives a documentary-style peek into the everyday lives of the undead.
Available on Amazon Prime.
8
'Garlic Is Good As Ten Mothers'
This loosely jointed documentary delivers on its promise of garlic, garlic, and more garlic. Fans, foes, food, festivals — every element of the stinking rose is examined without over-explanation in this delightful doc.
Available on FilmStruck.
9
'The Lobster'
This brutally dry comedy takes place in a world where being single is criminal, and those remaining so are shipped off to a center to either pair up or shapeshift off.
Available on Amazon Prime.
10
'Chef'
This completely tension-free movie (the main obstacle is whether Jon Favreau's chef will bond with his son, really) is an easy and food-centric watch with actual food truck chef Roy Choi co-producing and creating the film's menus.
Available on Amazon Prime
11
'Waitress'
This charming indie traces one woman's attempted escape from small town life and a loveless marriage via desserts like the "Baby Screaming Its Head Off In The Middle Of The Night And Ruining My Life" pie, complete with recipes.
Available on on HBOGo and Amazon Prime.
12
'I Like Killing Flies'
This documentary follows famous (and famously cranky) New York institution Shopsin's, a family-run diner facing eviction from their current space. Don't worry, they had to move but are still around (and don't you dare bring more than four people).
Not Available Streaming.
13
'Delicatessen'
Few would suspect the team behind Amelie would have made this blackly funny post-apocalyptic tale of a cannibal hotel surviving on new "guests".
Available on on Vudu and TubiTV.
Hopefully these movies and their sometimes delicious, occasionally offensive recipes will help while the time away until Nailed It! comes back to Netflix soon.
