The Menu is a 2022 American black comedy film directed by Mark Mylod and written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Judith Light, and John Leguizamo. It follows a foodie and his date traveling to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu but reveals shocking surprises throughout the meal.
Theatrical release poster
Ralph Fiennes stars as Chef Slowik
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, gallows humor, black humor, or dark humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss. Writers and comedians often use it as a tool for exploring vulgar issues by provoking discomfort, serious thought, and amusement for their audience. Thus, in fiction, for example, the term black comedy can also refer to a genre in which dark humor is a core component. Cartoonist Charles Addams was famous for such humor, e.g. depicting a boy decorating his bedroom with stolen warning signs including
"NO DIVING – POOL EMPTY", "STOP – BRIDGE OUT" and "SPRING CONDEMNED."
"Hopscotch to oblivion", Barcelona, Spain, possibly referring to suicide
A cemetery with a "Dead End" sign, creating a play on words
An 1825 newspaper used a gallows humor "story" of a criminal whose last wish before being beheaded was to go nine-pin bowling, using his own severed head on his final roll, and taking delight in having achieved a strike.
