''The Hungry Bachelors Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by Gregory Ruzzin, based on the novel of the same name by Lynn Scott Myers. The film was retitled ''Food for the Heart'' for its DVD release.

Plot

Delmar Youngblood is a single mother with a passion for cooking; she dreams of opening her own restaurant called ''Food for the Heart'', but in reality has a low-paid job as an insurance adjuster. Her best friend and roommate Hortense believes she would be a perfect wife for lawyer Stanley Diggers, though he wishes to advance his career before making a commitment. With their culinary talents and gift for hospitality, the two women host regular dinner parties for an assortment of family and friends. These include Jethro, Delmar's brother, who is a

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

professor with an obsession for vintage

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

s, and his best friend Marlon, a freelance writer. There is also their pianist mother, Hannibal Youngblood, and her boyfriend, Mr. Ringold. When a friend of Hannibal's unexpectedly dies on one of these gatherings, her estranged daughter Missy Bainbridge comes to collect the body, and strikes up a relationship with Jethro. While searching through a junkyard to rescue a doomed Cadillac, Jethro and Marlon meet and befriend Moses Grady, a former

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

who joins the gang and finds new purpose when he becomes attached to Delmar and her dream. Things get serious when Stanley makes Delmar an offer: he wants her to become a surrogate mother on behalf of his bigoted boss Mr. Spinner, whose wife is unable to conceive. This arrangement would provide Delmar with the money she needs to open her restaurant, make Stanley a partner in his law firm, and give Hortense the engagement ring she craves. Delmar accepts, and opens her restaurant in partnership with Moses, but in the

third trimester Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but can ...

she decides to keep the baby.

Cast

Jorja Fox Jorja-An Fox ( ) is an American actress and producer. She first came to prominence with a recurring role in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' as Dr. Maggie Doyle from 1996 to 1999. This was followed by another critical success in the recurring ro ...

as Delmar Youngblood *

Bill Nunn William Goldwyn Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's film ''Do the Right Thing'', Robbie Robertson in the Sam Raimi ''Spider-Man'' film trilogy and as Terre ...

as Moses Grady * Suzanne Mara as Hortense *

Peter Murnik Peter Murnik (born December 14, 1965) is an American actor known for roles in '' Justified'', '' JAG'', '' Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Martial Law'', and '' ER''. He also had a role in the 1998 movie '' Hard Rain''. Early life and education Mur ...

as Jethro Youngblood *

David Shackelford David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

as Marlon Price *

Candice Azzara Candice Azzara (born May 18, 1945) is an American character actress. She is the aunt of actress Lana Parrilla. Azzara was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of Josephine (née Bravo) and Samuel Azzara. She was inspired to pursue acting by the film ...

as Hannibal Youngblood *

Paul Provenza Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957) is a television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up comedians. ...

as Stanley Diggers *

Katherine Kendall Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

as Missy Bainbridge *

W. Morgan Sheppard William Morgan Sheppard (24 August 1932 – 6 January 2019) was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes, in a career that spanned over 50 years. Stage career Sheppard graduated from the Royal Academy of ...

as Mr. Ringold *

Michael Des Barres Michael Philip Des Barres (born 24 January 1948), the 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original ''MacGyver'', Nicholas Helman, Murdoc's mentor, on the new reboot of ''MacGyver'' (2016) ...

as Mr. Spinner

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hungry Bachelors Club 1999 films Films based on American novels 1990s English-language films American comedy-drama films American romantic drama films 1990s American films