rickd24 Never heard of this movie but was looking thru Amazon Prime for something to watch, saw that it had Aasif Mandvi as the star, was also about food, and thought I'd give it a try. I was glad I did, very enjoyable movie after a bit of a slow start.I agree with pretty much all of the other reviews but I wanted to point a couple of other things I really liked - leaving out a couple of the usual clichés you see in movies like this. 1) Normally I would expect the lead character to say something stupid to lose the girl, then manage to get her back again. He did say something stupid, but she just laughed it off instead of stomping off. Nice. 2) Immigrant parents NEVER like the blond girlfriend in these kinds of movies, at least not at the beginning until they eventually come around. They mentioned it but didn't even come close, again they laughed it off. Also nice.Best part of the movie was any scene with Naseeruddin Shah, he really stole the movie. Anyone notice that he frequently talked like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof? Both in cadence and in the things he said. Don't know if it was intentional or not but it added some enjoyment of the movie.

Tim Johnson Diane and I saw this enjoyable film last night and equally enjoyed the entire movie meaning that there were no slow spots anywhere in the film. Neither one of us knew any more about what we were to see accept that which was written on the back of the box containing the CD; therefore, the development of the movie was paced very well thanks to the director's sure grip on the progression of the film.The cast universally played their roles extremely well. The film revolves around the failure of an Indian restaurant in New York and is saved, improbably, by an Indian raconteur.Those wiser in the ways of movie scripting will say, quite correctly, that "Today's Special" is made up of "cardboard characters" with an easily anticipated script moves and I totally agree with those commentators; however, Diane and I, she of the much wiser movie critique ability, enjoyed the layout of this film very much. The characters were so good and as Indian film notables, so believable that any criticism can be deflected. Although there were only two major female roles it would be a definite must see "chic flic."

MartinHafer Over the years, I have noticed that most cooking movies are really great entertainment. "Babette's Feast", "Big Night" and "Bella Martha" are a few great cooking films I have seen and so I was looking forward to seeing "Today's Special". Fortunately, my expectations were met. While not quite in the same league as these three films, it was very close--and a film I can heartily recommend.Aasif Mandva plays Samir--an Indian-American who is classically trained and has dreams of going to France to further his culinary education. Unfortunately, just before he leaves, his father has a heart attack and Samir is forced to stay and run his family's horrible Indian restaurant. I say horrible because the place is filthy, the chef is a filthy pig and the food is wretched. Truly Samir has his work cut out for him--particularly because he knows nothing about Indian cooking. By chance, he happens to meet a cabbie who claims he knows how to cook well and Samir hires him to work in the restaurant. What's next? See the film as there is so much more to the movie--such as Samir's very problematic relationship with his father, Samir's pathetic dating life and his father's plans to sell the restaurant! Why did I like this film? Well, it had a wonderful ensemble cast. So many of the supporting characters were very cute and likable. Additionally, Naseeruddin Shah did a lovely job as the cabbie cook--which was a very important foundation for the film. Well worth seeing, a bit funny and with a lot of heart.Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, another wonderful film about cooking is "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman". If you can think of any others let me know--I am always in the mood for a good food film.

alan-51-111974 Yes this is a feel good movie and in some ways an adult coming of age movie but it's in no way stupid or trite.The performances of all are impeccable, even the smallest of characters seem real and fully formed. The soundtrack is also fabulous.Some of the plot I could see coming about a mile in advance but I really didn't care because I was enjoying it so much.The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi co-wrote and starred in this, this may put some more conservative viewers off but then they probably wouldn't watch the movie anyway because it's about Muslims in New York. I may be turning into Bill Maher.I guess there's really no reason why I should try to persuade conservatives to watch it... except... it's a gem. Warning... may contain brown people. It's sensitive, heartwarming, funny and uplifting without too many obvious clichés and as Aasif Mandvi's first movie, it's a triumph for him and a joy for us.