'I Don't Know How To Feel About This' — Anthony Bourdain's New Biopic Trailer Divides The Internet

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Anthony Bourdain was an outspoken, opinionated, and at times controversial figure in the food world. He despised Yelp reviews, he hated food trends (like labeling everything "artisanal" and slapping on a high price tag), and he shared a meal with Hezbollah while swearing never to dine with Donald Trump. It's fitting, then, that the trailer for a new biopic called "Tony" is earning mixed reactions from social media users. The movie doesn't encompass Bourdain's entire career as a chef-turned-TV personality, but instead deals with one formative season in his life (the summer of 1975, to be specific).

Some viewers seem extremely enthusiastic, with one X user proclaiming: "Get the f*** out this looks so good!!!" (Like Bourdain, they did not express themselves in asterisks, but we try to keep things PG around here.) According to another, "script writer must be a genius to speak like tony." Yet another critic, however, said "Looks unbelievably bad I can't believe you guys are defending this," while someone else speculated: "This trailer is something he would've skewered as a bit in a parts unknown episode while extolling the virtues of 1950s Vietnamese Lesbian Film Noir!"

Over on Reddit, a thread about the trailer turned into a lot of side conversations about Bourdain, the film's star Dominic Sessa, or director Matt Johnson. One person compared the movie to a popular TV show, calling it "The Bear-dain." Overall, it seems as if some people will watch it, while others fear it will just be a typical story of "future celeb struggles, then makes good" which we've seen a hundred times before.

When it comes to the Anthony Bourdain biopic, the internet may have mixed feelings (since when does it not?), but the Bourdain estate has no issue with "Tony." (This stands in stark contrast to the family of Michael Jackson, whose members have been sharply divided in their reactions to the recently released "Michael.") The lack of fuss may stem in part from the fact that the movie really only covers a short period in the life of the young chef-to-be, leaving less room for controversial matters to come up.

In a statement released to the press (via Consequence), Bourdain's heirs have said of the movie, "We appreciate the portrayal of Tony's complexity, his intellectual appetite and his conviction — qualities that eventually took him around the globe and endeared him to so many. We hope this film serves as a reminder that every journey has a start, and that audiences see the beginnings of the man who taught us how to be better explorers on our own paths." Whether they — or the internet — will feel the same way about any subsequent movies that cover later chapters of "Kitchen Confidential" remains to be seen. We're unaware of any in the offing, but if "Tony" proves to be a hit we wouldn't be surprised to see sequels that dive into murkier waters.