Feast of Love feels like a movie we’ve already seen several times over, said Brandon Griggs in The Salt Lake Tribune. Even with the acclaimed Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer) directing its cast, this “cable-TV melodrama” about the many guises of love seems “disposable.” The film, an adaptation of the novel by Charles Baxter, centers around a Portland coffeehouse and its many patrons. Greg Kinnear, as its owner, and Morgan Freeman, as a retired professor, anchor a cast that includes Selma Blair, Radha Mitchell, and Alexa Davalos. These locals explore love in all its forms—romantic, carnal, spiritual, paternal, and fraternal. The film’s fine choice of casting and appreciation for the female form are both characteristic of Benton, said Justin Chang in Variety. He succeeds at juggling the multiple narratives; however, “compassion finally outstrips insight in a drama as softheaded as it is softhearted.” All that’s left are the same old story lines starring recycled characters. Feast of Love lacks the bitter taste of authenticity, said Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. But it offers “a gentler alternative, especially if you prefer your coffee with extra cream and sugar.”
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