Turns out, Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell know how to get things cooking on the dance floor as well: The chefs were among a slew of food celebs at the Macy's after-party for the Wine & Food Festival's SWEET tasting, at The Xchange on 28th Street.

Flay, flanked by a circle of women, was one of the first guests to hit the dance floor, which ended up jammed with the likes of Restaurant Girl Danyelle Freeman and a hyper-energized Burrell, her spiky blonde ‘do bobbing high above the crowd. (If you’re wondering: Yes, Flay does know how to pull off a smooth Tony Manero, although he does more of a shoulder shimmy-shimmy than all-out fancy footwork.)

By the time the DJ went all ‘80s and cranked out “Jessie’s Girl,” Flay had ditched his fancy blazer and was sweating it out in a black tee, while Burrell, within earshot, did her best karaoke sing-along impression. All together now: "WHERE CAN I FIND A WOMAN LIKE THAT?!!!"

(In the corner: Top Chef’s Dave Martin, dressed in shorts and Birkenstocks, dancing away solo most of the time.)

Now, let’s play “Spot the Chef”…

A number of notable selections at this year’s New York Film Festival were of the français persuasion with the Film Society favoring directors Olivier Assayas, Agnès Jaoui and Arnaud Desplechin’s new work and choosing Laurent Cantet’s Cannes-winning The Class to open the festival. All four films were distinctly contemporary depicting modern day France in all of it’s beautiful, and at time infuriatingly disconnected, glory.

Like Hou Hsiao Hsien's The Flight of the Red Balloon which played at last year's festival, Assayas’s new movie Summer Hours initially began as a commission by the Musée d’Orsay to commemorate their 20th anniversary. While it does include some scenes shot inside the gorgeous Parisian museum and featured some artwork lent to the production, Assayas veared off of track from lauding the institution to questioning whether artwork belongs behind a glass case at all. A family story of mourning and negotiation, legacy and memory, it includes a knock-out performance by Juliet Binoche and will be getting a theatrical release next spring.  

Desplechin and his star, French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve visited the Film Society to discuss their film after a screening to the press. The drama titled A Christmas Tale follows the long holiday weekend spent by an extended family coping with the mother’s cancer diagnosis. The all-star cast includes Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos and Chiara Mastroianni (Deneuve’s daughter) who play some of the grown children returning to the nest. Deneuve, still stunning after all of these years on screen, had nothing but praise for her director remarking to the audience, “I was amazed by the energy and the cheerful atmosphere on the set. He’s like a child in a playroom.” The movie gets a regular theatrical release in mid November.

—Karen Wilson

Catherine Deneuve and Arnaud Desplechin speaking at Walter Reade theater. Photo by Karen Wilson.

Like a folding chair to the back of the head, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, comes out of nowhere and packs a wallop. Serving as the closing film for the 46th New York Film Festival this weekend, it concludes the Film Society's annual parade of the best international cinema with a bang. The man responsible for delivering that cinematic body slam is Mickey Rourke, an actor who garnered considerable praise in the '80s for his performances in 9 ½ Weeks and Diner but then with his personal struggles and a stint as professional boxer went back under the Hollywood radar. In the film he plays aging New Jersey professional wrestler Randy the Ram whose fading tan, aching body and grown out dye job is nearly as sad as his estranged relationship with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and his stripper girlfriend Cassidy (Marisa Tomei).

The thing that makes the movie, and in turn Rourke's performance, so compelling is how he and his character don't hold anything back. Randy throws himself entirely into the wrestling ring, even if that means picking glass and razor wire out of his skin afterwards. Rourke told a packed press conference audience that he spent "a pretty extensive rehearsal time" with a number of professional wrestlers (who also served as extras) learning their moves. Even though his fight scenes are heavily choreographed "like a ballet" Rourke really was getting hurt on camera, just like the professionals. "I'm no spring chicken," the 56-year-old reminded the audience. "I was so glad when this movie was over. I was just tired all of the time."

 [The Wrestler gets a theatrical release starting December 19.]

—Karen Wilson

Photo Credit: Wild Bunch

Sporting close-cropped, greasy brown hair and one pair of dirty cut offs throughout the movie, Michelle William’s role in New York-based director Kelly Reichardt’s new movie Wendy and Lucy is decidedly unglamorous. But as an acting performance it’s utterly arresting. Williams plays Wendy, a young woman passing through Portland, Oregon on her way to Alaska where she hopes to get canning work. Wendy’s only companion on her frugal journey is her faithful dog Lucy, who goes missing after Wendy leaves her in front of a grocery store where she is arrested for shoplifting some supplies. With her car broken down next to a drugstore and her stash of cash quickly dwindling, Wendy is unmoored from society, sleeping in the back of her car and bathing in the sink of a nearby gas station.

During a press conference following a screening of the movie at the New York Film Festival, Reichardt talked about how the film’s bleak storyline was inspired by the rootless existence of some of the Katrina survivors. Like Reichardt’s last film, Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy was shot in the Pacific Northwest, includes roles for musician Will Oldham and Reichardt’s own dog, and is based on a short story by Jon Raymond. The unlikely collaboration between the Hollywood A-lister and the lesser known director came about through an introduction by Reichardt’s executive producer Todd Haynes, who had recently cast Williams in I’m Not There (which played at the last year’s NYFF). “She had seen Old Joy and was looking to do something outside of Los Angeles or New York,” explained Reichardt. “She was very game even though she wasn’t allowed to wash her hair for 20 days.”

[Wendy and Lucy will be playing at Film Forum for two weeks in December.]

—Karen Wilson

Photo Credit: Oscilloscope / Film Society of Lincoln Center

Like the an unexpected tropical breeze blowing in off of the Thames, British director Mike Leigh’s newest film, Happy Go-Lucky goosed the audiences at the first weekend of New York Film Festival with it’s infectious lightness. Leigh and his star, Sally Hawkins (who won the best actress prize at the Berlin Film Festival) were both in attendance after a screening last week to accept the press’s rapturous praise with grace. It’s not surprising Happy Go-Lucky has been so well-liked since the main character Poppy Cross’s modus operandi is “being a good person” according to Leigh, even if it puts her in direct conflict with everyone else she meets from her angry driving instructor to a taciturn bookseller. “But it’s not enough to talk about her as happy. She has a great depth and profundity.”

To further enhance the sunny disposition Poppy, a singleton primary school teacher living in London, radiates throughout Happy Go-Lucky, Leigh worked with his long-time cinematographer Dick Pope to develop a whole new visual aesthetic for the film. Using a brand new film stock produced by Fuji called Vivid and shooting for the first time in cinemascope, Leigh told our audience he needed each frame “to burst with color and light.” And boy oh boy, does this joy-inducing movie shine. You can't help but leave the theater with a grin on your face.

(The Museum of the Moving Image is bringing Mike Leigh to present a screening of Happy Go-Lucky at the Scandinavia House on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 5 pm.)

— Karen Wilson

Photo Credit: Simon Mein/ Courtesy of Miramax Films / Film Society of Lincoln Center