Starring an ensemble cast composed of such recognizable faces on the independent filmmaking scene as Alfre Woodard, as well as such recent TV émigrés as Julianna Margulies, "What's Cooking?" blends its family storylines into a gentle mix that highlights each family's essential uniqueness. At the same time, it ties together their common social bonds and beliefs. Unabashedly enthusiastic about the melting-pot nature of U.S. society, the film's inter-connecting narratives sometimes come across, as well, overly gooey. British filmmakerGurinder Chadha is obviously enamored of the rich pastiche of contemporary USA, particularly the central-side of Los Angeles, which is not often depicted in the worldwide media. In its early sections, the film sometimes comes across as a Hallmark Card-style. testimonial to all we modern-day Pilgrims.

Despite its somewhat glossy depiction of family life, "What's Cooking?" is a bright and sensitive story. Best, there's a cornucopia of yummy food images. Most memorably, there's a mouth-watering montage of turkey servings, with each turkey decked out with the particular flavorings of the respective ethnic-American groups. Indeed, the food imagery is sometimes more telling and emblematic of the special natures of each family than are the squabbles, bickering, and standard altercations that comprise the various plots.

While a cynic might describe the visuals as "turkeys of the world," the film's overall sweetness, amid just the right amount of personal pinches and spicing, lifts it above the standard gruel one often endures at film festival opening nights, - namely those films that are "good" for you. "What's Cooking?" to throw in one last food metaphor, is a generally tasty entertainment that is both engaging and uplifting. The interconnecting story strands build to credible tensions and reveal common bonds.

While British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha certainly understands and appreciates her Americana, there are some telling tonal incongruities that clue you to the fact that Chadha's cultural vantage is not from within these borders. A bevy of musical oddities - The Venture's "Pipeline" and Beach Boy music - are simply incongruous to the stories and setting. The fluid bass guitar riffs are terrific, but not of this movie. There are other minor touches that are out-of-sync also, but these nitpickings do not detract from the movie's intelligence and heart.

The performances, however, consistently ring true. Alfre Woodard as a stressed-out wife and mother is, as ever, terrific. Her expressions and reactions to an overbearing mother in law are perfect. Women everywhere will identify with Woodward's plight. Dennis Haysbert is also terrific as Woodard's straight arrow but eminently conflicted husband. Among the other families, Joan Chen is particularly credible as a Vietnamese émigré who is perplexed by "American girls," while Maury Chaykin is wonderfully recognizable as a befuddled paterfamilias who has lost touch with the modern world.