The "formative years biopic" is just as bad as its broader cousin

Biopics face a dilemma where their audience relies on recognition, but the genre's reputation for lazy and exploitative works diminishes its cultural value. Filming the stories of influential figures, like leaders, activists, or artists, can be challenging due to the potential backlash and their premature and tragic deaths. Tony, a fictional biopic about Anthony Bourdain, is part of a subgenre called "formative years" biopics.

These films focus on the subject as a young person, looking for lessons and small victories to symbolize their future achievements, without using grand set pieces or extravagant events. The film, inspired by Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential, follows Tony's initial exposure to the culinary world in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The narrative frequently explores the relationships and experiences that help shape the subject's character, using dramatic irony to highlight the contrast between the protagonist's present situation and their future impact. These formative biopics aim to humanize the subjects by emphasizing their ordinary lives and formative experiences, even if they do not always accurately reflect their subjects' actual histories.