Watching this exquisite documentary is such a joyful experience! It's as delicious and unforgettable as an exquisite meal with your favorite friend. The interviews with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Ruth Badger Ginsberg and Colin Powell, all sharing their favorite Automatic memories make fir delightful company. Made with love and great talent, one will want to revisit this gem often!

THE AUTOMAT (2022) **** Documentarian Lisa Hurwitz looks back at an American institution, the automat - a self-service cafeteria in Philadelphia and NYC, that congregated the masses for its simple function of providing good food for literally nickels. Nostalgic pure and loving with famous folk like Colin Powell, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, and the film's heart and soul, the irrepressible Mel Brooks, all recounting personal memories of attending the establishment in heartfelt detail. Makes you wish you could go back in time to enjoy life's simple pleasures.

I used to frequent the last automat, and I was very fond of it.

This made me a bit sad, though, because American business is no longer like it was. These guys STARTED by wanting to make a good restaurant, and figured that would make them money. Today, they just want to make money, and don't actually care about the product at all.

But it was a beautiful trip to a past time.