Wednesday, May 1, 2013

May I Be Frank?: A Review and Giveaway

Frank Ferrante
Let's be honest. Or, in this case, frank. As much I love my deep-fried tofu and Tofutti Cuties, I know that whole, raw vegan foods in their purest forms are the best bet for good health. And for people who are trying to turn their lives around after years of abusing their bodies through unhealthy meaty diets, smoking, boozing, and drugs, a healthy, mostly raw diet is probably the best way to go. At least for a cleansing period.

That's what happened with Frank Ferrante, the star of documentary May I Be Frank? It's the story of a 54-year-old overweight guy with Sicilian roots, bad habits, and failing health. But Frank makes a major change in his life path when some dudes at the famous high-raw vegan restaurant, Cafe Gratitude, take Frank under their wings and feed him wheatgrass, raw food, daily affirmations, and all that hippie stuff for 42 days.

I won't give away the ending, but as one would imagine, Frank's health takes a turn for the better as the film progresses. Throughout the film, we get a glimpse into Frank's life — his marital problems, his family issues, his former heroin habit, his health problems, and perhaps best of all, his humanity. Throughout the cleanse, Frank has his good days. And he has his really, really bad days. Oh, and we get, um, pretty damn up-close-and-personal with Frank. We're talkin' deep discussions about pooping and plenty of colonics. But hey, when you're workin' on what goes in, you gotta check out what's coming out too.

That being said, the one thing missing from this film was the "what goes in" — the food! Other than a reading of a one-day menu of Cafe Gratitude meals Frank must eat and shots of Frank tipping back wheatgrass now and again, we never see him eat! There's much more attention paid to colonics and self-discovery, which is all fine and good. But I wish I could have seen a few of Frank's breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

But despite that one flaw, May I Be Frank? is a magnificent look at transformation and the amazing power of human will. The film has been around for some time, and it's made a name for itself in vegan circles. But I'm blogging about it now because it was recently released on DVD, so anyone can watch it outside of the film fest circuit.

You can buy a copy here. But you can also enter to win one of two copies (courtesy of Cinema Libre Studio) by leaving me a comment about your favorite raw food dish. Be sure and leave an email address if you don't have one linked to a Blogger or Wordpress profile. I'll randomly pick two winners on Monday (May 6th) night. Good luck!

Oh, and here's the trailer.
May I Be Frank Trailer from Cinema Libre Studio on Vimeo.

21 comments:

Darren Millar said...

My Favourite raw dish is Asian stir-raw with miso ginger sauce from the Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr..YUM............
dasyoj@telus.net

maesti said...

I love this recipe... http://everydaychampagne.blogspot.com/2013/02/raw-and-vegan-chocolate-pie-hold-lies.html - raw chocolate pie!

Shannon said...

overnight oats!

Anonymous said...

Raw cookies with dates, pecans and cinnamon in the Ninja! marie.e.coyle@gmail.com

Animal-Friendly said...

I love love love raw cheesecake!

Cassi c said...

My favorite raw dish is a lasgana made with zucchini, sundried tomatoes, pesto & cashew cheese. It was my 1st raw dish, i made when i decided to become vegan, when it sets overnight the flavors come together and it bursts with flavor. Msproducer2g@yahoo.com

amanda j said...

I met Frank at a screening for this film, and he gave me the best hug ever!

My favorite raw dish would be zucchini lasagna or raw pizza.

Dana Vickerson said...

forgot fav raw food dish. ZUCCHINI PASTA!

MB said...

I make a raw red pepper hummus - YUMMY

sharklegs said...

this movie looks great! i love making raw energy balls in my food processor, but i am beyond psyched to get a much coveted dehydrator for my upcoming birthday. been waiting a long time for it, and i can't wait to start experimenting.

Stephanie said...

My favorite raw dish is guacamole. No chips required- I can eat it with a spoon! Love your blog! landse@gmail.com

Stephanie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah Christine Bolton said...

I may be biased, but my current favorite raw dish is this vegan cheesecake I made with young coconut and avocado. We ate about 75% of it last night, and I am seriously practicing some hardcore self-control to not go inhale the remaining 25% sitting in the fridge, whispering my name in a quietly seductive voice...

My email is 805.464.1499... and you and your blog rock! Thanks for being a bright spot for us vegans in the dirty south! :)

Michelle said...

Does coleslaw count? Cause I love me some slaw! Otherwise I love raw black bean brownies :)

Carrie™ said...

That looks like an inspiring film. Not only because of the diet, but it looks like he tackles some other personal demons and tries to make amends. A great "it's never too late" story. Now if I can just get past the fact that he looks so much like a woman I used to work with. Really! He does!
I don't know if I can enter the contest because I'm in Canada, but just in case I'm able to, my favourite raw food dish (if it can be called a "dish") is Dreena Burton's "Brawnies". So yummy!

The Peace Patch said...

Tess' Raw Vegan Blueberry Pie Green Smoothies from Healthy Blender Recipes are my current favorite because sometimes I just run out of time to get healthy food into me and these are superdelicious!

Kelly said...

Pretty standard, but a great salad is my favorite was to eat raw food.

AlwaysJoy said...

My favorite raw meal is probably a juice or smoothie (which has been my favorite meals lately) the juice I love most is carrots (4 or 5), green apple, Bosc pear, a teeny bit of ginger and spinach to fill the glass :-D

Hannah said...

I've wanted to see this movie since it came out, to no avail! Glad it's finally on DVD.

I'm a big fan of zucchini noodles with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes and macadamia ricotta. I could very happily eat that every day in the summer.

PaganAngel said...

Guacamole!

♡♥♬ Carolsue ♡♥♬ said...

I love Carrot ribbon pasta with coconut almond satay.
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