Customer Reviews

Chef's Special

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Maxi is a nebbish, gay, drama queen, owner/chef of a struggling restaurant. He is helped out by a close-knit but somewhat scatterbrained group of employees, including his best gal pal, Alex, who seems to have a knack for being attracted to the wrong men. When a handsome, former superstar soccer player moves into Maxi's apartment building, Alex is instantly smitten, and recruits Maxi to help her make a play for him, but the handsome athlete turns out to be closeted and is actually attracted to Maxi instead. Meanwhile, Maxi reunites with his children from a failed marriage, a sullen teenage son and hyperactive 6 year old daughter, who come to live with him after the death of their mother. After years of being alone and set in his ways, Maxi finds it difficult to suddenly have a lover as well as having to be an "instant" good father, a role he never wanted.

"Fuera de carta (Chef's Special)" is a 2008 Spanish film directed and written by a team that mostly writes TV sitcoms in that country, and it shows. The pace is light and breezy, with madcap physical comedy and unexpected revelations delivering most of the laughs. And, despite some criticism in a few reviews that the script contains too many homophobic jokes, the context in which they are told (most by Maxi's somewhat senile father, who doesn't seem to be able to stop himself) makes it clear that they are a product of the ignorance of the person speaking, reminiscent of Archie on "All In The Family" in the US. Overall, I found this to be a well-written, positive and largely hysterical romantic comedy, much recommended to both gay and open-minded non-gay audiences. Five (Michelin) stars out of five!

DVD soundtrack is in Spanish with English subtitles. (Note that the film is very dialogue-intensive, so it takes a lot of constant reading to keep up with what is happening.) Extras include a "making of" featurette and photo album.

I first saw Javier Camara in Talk to Her, he was great. It was suprising to see him look so different and playing a homosexual, which he did so well. I love to hear the Spanish accent.

As far as world cinema goes, Spain is not always seen as a major player, but with the likes of this offering I am hoping that things are changing. The plot centres around a gay restuarant owner who meets a closeted football player who is nationally known and a TV pundit, whilst he is desperately trying to get a Michelin star. Also his ex-wife dies leaving him a son and daughter - whom he has never known. And as they say hilarity ensues, and it is genuinely funny, the dialogue is razor sharp and delivered at a blistering pace. The characters are all well dveloped even if they at first appear slightly one dimensional, his nymphomaniac maitre d for example. It is thoughtful well written and acted with real care that shows how much everyone enjoyed making it.

Although billed as a gay movie, that part of the plot is really a sub text as this is really a story about relationships, ambition and acceptance, with a bucket load of humour.

I highly recommend it and if you like this then try 'Boys Town' its available from Amazon.co.uk but is still only Region 2, but another little Spanish gem.

I'm giving this movie a 4* rating because it is entertaining and more than just a bit moving at times. The protagonist is perhaps not the most lovable of all of the Spanish Bears one might find in movies, but he's convincing as a person who can both grow and change. If you like BearCub you will probably like this movie; however, you might find it to be a second-rate knock-off of that superior filem.

Spanish gay themed movie makers know how to do comedy, and Chief's Special is a good example of that. It's a really nice comedy. Maybe, as in previous example, it could have been a little more sexy: it's strange, from what I know Spain is quite a liberal country, but in almost all the gay themed comedy, the sexuality is down-played, letting the spectator a lot to its own imagination. Anyway, both characters, Maxi and Horacio, are nice and funny, and there is a bunch of supporting characters, even the female one ;-) that are worthing seeing the movie. And it has an happy ending!

If you like comedy this is the movie you would like to see... regardless of your sexual orientation. Don't see with young kids...

This is an entertaining Spanish comedy that moves at lightening speed. Maxi is a chef/restaurant owner in Madrid who yearns for a Michelin star. His ambitions pretty much end there until two children from a failed marriage (Maxi is openly and loudly gay) and a hunky Argentine soccer player suddenly show up to turn his daily routine upside down. The drama queen methodology that he has used to run his kitchen and restaurant to date won't work with his new, more complicated life. Maxi gradually learns what matters most to him through a series of misadventures that eventually lead to real fatherhood and a genuine love life.

This is broad comedy--slapstick much of the time. But funny, funny, funny and very good-hearted. There is an excellent cast and interesting range of characters. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Even with the latter, it's a little hard to keep up at times. If you speak Spanish, the language is a little salty for children, but otherwise hilarious.

A lot of fun. Recommended.

A voice of dissent.

The synopsis on this DVD case starts with:

"Pulsating with the energy and wit of Almodovar....".

Sadly, for this film, Almodovar has more talent in his little toe than this writer/director.

The main character is so incredibly unlikeable that this 'raucous' (their word) 'comedy' (their word too) is an uncomfortable experience. Unlike the other reviewers, I found nothing about the film to be funny, let alone witty. It certainly had heaps of 'energy' - the frenetic, annoying kind and is full of caricatures, stereotypes and incessant homophobic remarks and 'jokes'.

If you find self-centred, hysterical drama queens who abandon their children, to be funny and appealing, this movie might engage you. I'm afraid after all the hype and positive reviews, it left me flat. To enjoy a movie you have to like the characters or identify with them. I'm afraid I could do neither. As Malcolm McLaren of the Sex Pistols famously said of ABBA: after listening to them it 'made you want to immediately go out and commit arson'. While not moved to quite such an extreme action, I nevertheless was not laughing and was left wondering why other reviewers found this movie so amusing. Is it because of the paucity of gay-themed movies that whenever one is released people are so grateful that their objectivity disappears ? One could speculate endlessly.

One star for the child actors and cinematography.