Bob Giraldi, award-winning director of commercials and music videos (Michael Jackson's "Beat It"), uses his own restaurant--Gigino's Trattoria--as the starting point for his debut feature, DINNER RUSH. The film is about one lively night at a trendy restaurant in the TriBeCa area of New York City. Louis (Danny Aiello) is an aging bookie and restauranteur who's bemoaning the transformation of Gigino's from a down-to-earth, mom-and-pop Italian eatery to a pretentious, see-and-be-seen establishment. Louis's talented son, Udo (Edoardo Ballerini), is an ambitious star chef who wants to take over the restaurant because he claims his food and his style are responsible for the success of the business. To make matters worse, Louis is confronted by a pair of thugs known as Black and Blue who murdered his partner and now want to take over his place. Mark Margolis is hilarious as the droll art critic and nightmare customer, Fitzgerald. Summer Phoenix plays a smart-talking waitress. And topping off the colorful cast is Sandra Bernhard as a snotty food critic.