If there’s one person you can bank on for good taste, it’s Stanley Tucci. One of the most sharply-dressed and elegant men in Hollywood, a renowned gentleman, a very fine actor indeed, and a man who takes a lot of pleasure in new experiences and seeking out the finer things in life; Tucci’s got it all.
We’ve now been treated to more insights into the wonderful world of Tucci thanks to his new show Tucci in Italy.
The National Geographic-produced show sees Tucci travel his ancestral home of Italy, guiding viewers through regional cuisines, cultures, and history. It’s a spiritual successor to his previous documentary series Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, and it’s proving a hit with critics - many of whom seem to agree on one key aspect.
Reviewers have been heaping praise on Tucci's new series, which is available to watch via Disney+, noting how it's his effortless but genuinely passionate presenting style that helps steer it away from the clichés that food TV often falls foul to.
“One wants to credit the show’s host for finding new ways of expressing his ecstasy when experiencing yet another succulent morsel - of 3-inch-thick beefsteak raised on vast Tuscan pastures by butteri (Italian cowboys), or the stone-pine pesto served him atop a German-influenced dumpling in Trentino-Alto Adige, a northern region in the Dolomites that once was part of Austria and where goulash, sauerkraut and polenta happily co-exist," The Wall Street Journal said.
It explained how the new show, in which the actor 'eats his way across the country of his ancestors while still managing to wear a European-tailored wardrobe', is quite similar to the earlier series (which lasted two seasons), adding: “But the perspective, and the menu, has been broadened. Rather than simply exploring the regional distinctions and historical echoes to be found in various strains of Italian cuisine, Mr. Tucci connects Italian technology and industry to the quality of the food (which is really the star of the show).”
In its review, The Telegraph was equally effusive in its praise of Tucci’s hosting abilities: “It also helps that Tucci’s style – dry humour mixed with an enthusiastic amateur’s knowledge – never tips over into the gushing clichés that blight so many foodie shows.
“It’s a crowded field, but Tucci’s culinary explorations feel driven by authentic passion (and an ability to neck whatever bit of dead animal gets artistically presented to him) with appropriate gusto.”
The AU Review, similarly taken with Tucci’s knack for documentary-making skills, added: “He also wisely never dips into the saccharine clichés of being overtly gushy about each food taste and reveal.
“Sure, there’s a lot of variations of 'Oh man! That’s so good!' exclamations, but it comes from an absolute place of sincerity. There’s no performance here. Tucci is genuinely interested in not just what he’s eating, but the why and the how.”
If you want to partake in Tucci’s latest tour of Italy, it’s available to stream on Disney+ along with the rest of Nat Geo’s roster of impeccable documentaries.
For terrestrial broadcasts, you can catch it on the Nat Geo channel through Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and BT’s TV packages, too.
Featured Image Credit: National GeographicTopics: Celebrity, TV and Film
Rachael Davis