Back to trending
Today's Special

Today's Special

Comedy · Romance · 2009

Young Manhattan chef Samir rediscovers his heritage and passion for life through the enchanting art of cooking Indian food.

Movie details

Today's Special

“Life Has No Recipe”

2009 Comedy · Romance 1h 39m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Young Manhattan chef Samir rediscovers his heritage and passion for life through the enchanting art of cooking Indian food.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Today's Special?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

French Girl

French Girl

Romance · 2024

Sweet Gordon, an affable English teacher in Brooklyn, has beaten the odds; a French Girl has fallen in love with him and he’s fallen even harder back. But their future is thrown into limbo when she interviews for an executive chef position in her hometown of Quebec City. To Gordon’s dismay her future boss also happens to be her former lover, a celebrity Chef with oceanic eyes and a hit TV show. Good luck Gordon.

Boot Camp

Boot Camp

Romance · 2024

Unathletic Whitney Carmichael signs up for an intense summer boot camp to reinvent herself and falls for her personal trainer. She then finds the strength to embrace her true self and ignore the others' expectations.

Maintenance Required

Maintenance Required

Romance · 2025

Charlie, the fiercely independent owner of an all-female mechanic shop, is forced to reevaluate her future when a flashy corporate competitor moves in across the street. Seeking comfort, she turns to an anonymous online confidant - unaware she's confiding in Beau, the very rival threatening her business. As sparks fly both online and off, the truth threatens to blow everything apart.

Someone Great

Someone Great

Comedy · 2019

An aspiring music journalist lands her dream job and is about to move to San Francisco when her boyfriend of nine years decides to call it quits. To nurse her broken heart, she and her two best friends spend one outrageous last adventure in New York City.

I'm No Angel

I'm No Angel

Comedy · 1933

Bold performer Tira works as dancing beauty and lion tamer at a fair. Out of an urgent financial need, she agrees to a risky new number: she'll put her head into the lion's mouth! With this attraction, the circus makes it to New York and Tira can pursue her dearest occupation — flirting with rich men and accepting expensive presents.

Picture This

Picture This

Romance · 2025

Single and without a man on the horizon, Pia runs a failing photography studio in London with her best friend Jay. As her sister Sonal prepares for marriage and her mother Laxmi urges her to partner up, a spiritual guru predicts Pia will meet the love of her life among her next five dates. With her family intervening, Pia embarks on a hilarious yet heartfelt quest for love.

The Last Summer

The Last Summer

Romance · 2019

Standing on the precipice of adulthood, a group of friends navigate new relationships, while reexamining others, during their final summer before college.

A Nice Girl Like You

A Nice Girl Like You

Comedy · 2020

Lucy Neal is thrown for a loop when she is accused of being too inhibited by her ex-boyfriend. In an effort to prove him wrong, Lucy creates a rather wild to-do list that sends her on a whirlwind and surprising journey of self-discovery, friendship, and new love.

Sex Appeal

Sex Appeal

Comedy · 2022

Avery, a teenager with a tendency towards perfectionism, enlists her friend Larson to help her prepare for her first time with her long-distance boyfriend.

My Sassy Girl

My Sassy Girl

Comedy · 2008

A guy has his life planned out until he is wooed, groomed and then dumped by an elusive woman.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Kaplan

Written by

Jonathan Bines · Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Mandvi

Samir

Jess Weixler

Jess Weixler

Carrie

Naseeruddin Shah

Naseeruddin Shah

Akbar

Aarti Mann

Aarti Mann

Henna (as Aarti Majmudar)

Dean Winters

Dean Winters

Steve

Kevin Corrigan

Kevin Corrigan

Stanton

Ajay Naidu

Ajay Naidu

Munnamia

Court is in session

Put Today's Special on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.