Some things I liked some I did not.

Really Surprised!

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

According to the back-of-the-box this film was a big hit in Spain. That's hard to believe as there are a lot of great films made in Spain and Chef's Special is the sort of pointless nonsense one usually finds in sitcoms on prime time TV.The plot...I'm not going to bother mentioning the plot other than the unbelievable romantic aspect of the story which involves a seemingly grounded former football star falling for a chef who is a complete buffoon.At best Chef's Special could be described as a farce (and that would be a very generous description) but it's really little more than cliché ridden slapstick full of awful characters. If you're looking for wacky gay comedy skip Chef's Special and watch The Birdcage again.

I hesitated between "4" and "7" as the movie isn't really bad but also not very excellent either. In regards to the homophobic conservatism that exists actually, it's good to have a light movie that involves gays. On the other hand, the movie is really heavy as the funny lines are crude, full of clichés. In fact, the movie depicts a bit gays like a special gender and maybe like fragile people who were expected to hide. I don't think it's fair. Beyond this, i don't really care about gays: they can do whatever they like but i never understood the need to have gay movies shelves in shops. What interests me is a good story and a good story involves every one.Another problem is that the movie runs after too much themes: it can be a movie about restaurant, but also a romance or about single parenthood. If the cast and production is top, finally, i felt like watching a sitcom and that's not the definition of a movie!

Nacho G. Velilla, primarily a writer & director of Spanish Television co-wrote & directed this delight.Even though there is much comedy there are serious moments as well.I have noticed that unlike comedies from The US & UK,films from Spain contain dramatic sub-plots. FUERA DE CARTA (Chef's Special) fits that genre perfectly.There are a few very silly scenes as well as a few dramatic ones.This is a tale of a middle aged quite flamboyant chef & owner of an up-scale restaurant. He was estranged from his family,his ex-wife dies in scene 2, leaving his near 16 year old son & 6 year old daughter in his care. His Maitre-d' is a sex-starved woman.I say no more, as you can guess & be right or wrong where this is going. Just go with the flow & enjoy.Some scenes are silly (as I said) & the film a a bit longer than a comic farce should be. Neither the comic or dramatic moments go overboard.The acting by all concerned is excellent, most are probably' well known performers in Spain.These ALL are seasoned actors.The food also is delicious looking as well.As I said this is a bit flawed & a a bit overlong, BUT I feel you all will enjoy it as much as I did. One reviewer said some scenes are homophobic, not so, as the actor saying the lines obviously had a stroke & does not realize what he is saying. (the mother in Golden Girls was the same way & no one thought she was homophobic)There are no hateful characters or situations,just regular people in comic,farce situationsRatings: *** (out of 4) 86 points (out of 1000 IMDb 8 (out of 10)

First, I should say that the movie definitely had some funny, enjoyable scenes. However, the movie was laden with way too many derogatory gay jokes. I was uncomfortable hearing so many bigoted, insulting, ignorant jokes. Many in the audience I was in laughed, but I squirmed at every "joke." Even in the movie's context of perhaps mocking homophobes, it was not necessary to have some many. Could you imagine a movie about African-Americans full of white characters spouting out a constant barrage of jokes about fried chicken and bananas and athletic prowess? And was it necessary for the main character to be such an effeminate stereotype? As for the plot, the director's soap opera experience was obvious; the plot had several wrenching shifts from light humor to attempts at deep seriousness. If you want to see good Spanish humor without the stereotyping and gay-bashing "jokes," I'd suggest Almodovar's many excellent comedies.