Pressure Cooker

Play trailer

Pressure Cooker

2008

1h 39m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

High school culinary arts students work all year to master their teacher's lessons, and compete in a cooking competition at the end of the year to earn a scholarship.

Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

The movie's sense of inspiration is realistic. It never implies a future of glamour, only hard-won success.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 9, 2010

Full Review

David Lewis

San Francisco Chronicle

An earnest crowd-pleaser that could have used an extra helping of dramatic tension -- but it succeeds by placing us in an interesting world with characters who are impossible not to root for.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 21, 2009

Full Review

Cliff Doerksen

Chicago Reader

Wilma Stephenson...definitely deserves a subtler cinematic testament than this lazily inspirational documentary.

Aug 20, 2009

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Receiving a special commendation for Best Documentary at LAFF, I knew it was only a matter of time before things would get cooking for this little gem.

Nov 13, 2019

Full Review

Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

Inspiring cooking-themed docu is great for teens.

Rated: 5/5

May 31, 2012

Full Review

Peter Keough

Boston Phoenix

By the end, you won't need to slice onions to get the tear ducts working.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 2, 2010

Full Review

Read all reviews

email m

An entirely different slant on a cooking show! Takes you DEEP into the backstabbing, gossip and politics in order to win by each contestant. Way too much talking in the show! On and on and on the contestants went to gloat over themselves and talk bad about their fellow chefs on the show. Needed more cooking and less backstabbing. But having said that, it clearly showed how humans treat each other. A good lesson on human nature and how NOT to be. I was glad though, of who won. He was nice.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Inspiring stories and inspiring teacher

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The strength and determination of these kids was inspiring to me. The strength and determination of their teacher was just as inspiring. I would watch it again and I will definitely recommend this film!"Pressure Cooker" is a really easy doc to watch, full of humor and most importantly those compelling characters with compelling stories. Grausman and Becker appear to have only needed to be there with cameras to get a great film, but to their credit, it's well-edited, picking great moments to let their story shine.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting documentary.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A bit like the classic documentary Hoop Dreams but with an imaginatively different setting. Just as good, and not half as long.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Awesome doc. Extremely heartfelt. Ms. Wilma Stephenson is truly an angel.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Mark Becker

Director

Jennifer Grausman

Director

Jennifer Grausman

Producer

Jeff Skoll

Executive Producer

Diane Weyermann

Executive Producer

Mark Becker

Cinematographer

Last Call at the Oasis

81%

88%

Last Call at the Oasis

Watchlist

Page One: Inside The New York Times

78%

75%

Page One: Inside The New York Times

Watchlist

American Factory

95%

82%

American Factory

Watchlist

TRAILER

for American Factory

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

80%

50%

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

Watchlist

TRAILER

for An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

Kingdom of Shadows

79%

60%

Kingdom of Shadows

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Kingdom of Shadows

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: Up And Drag Me to Hell Are Certified Fresh

View more photos

Synopsis

High school culinary arts students work all year to master their teacher's lessons, and compete in a cooking competition at the end of the year to earn a scholarship.

Director: Mark Becker, Jennifer Grausman
Producer: Jennifer Grausman
Production Co: Participant Media
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2016
Runtime: 1h 39m

Most Popular at Home Now