London

Today's Special

By LESLIE FELPERIN

An Inimitable Pictures presentation of a Sweet 180 production. (International sales: Inimitable, New York.) Produced by Lillian Lasalle, Nimitt Mankad. Executive producer, Rengan Rajaratnam, Beth Dembitzer. Co-producer, Declan Baldwin. Directed by David Kaplan. Screenplay, Aasif Mandvi, Jonathan Bines.
 
With: Aasif Mandvi, Jess Weixler, Madhur Jaffrey, Harish Patel, Kevin Corrigan, Dean Winters, Naseeruddin Shah.
 

A second-generation Indian-American chef trained in haute cuisine is forced to take over his family's failing Gotham tandoori joint in "Today's Special," a warm, easily digestible comedy dish that doesn't tease the palate with much complexity. Helmed by David Kaplan ("Year of the Fish"), the pic works best as a vehicle for the likable talents of thesp Aasif Mandvi, arguably best known for his occasional "reporting" on the Middle East on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." Not quite nourishing or distinctive enough to break out of the fest-and-niche circuit, "Special" would do best on cable menus.

When ace sous-chef Samir (Mandvi) is passed over for promotion at the fancy Manhattan restaurant he's been working at for years, he ankles in a huff and plans to move to Paris to get an apprenticeship with one of the biggest culinary stars in the biz. Unfortunately, his father (Harish Patel) has a heart attack, forcing Samir, an only child, to take over the family's restaurant, the Tandoori Palace in Jackson Heights, Queens.

The place is a dump with hardly any customers, and Samir just wants to keep it open until his dad is well enough to come back. However, a crisis in the kitchen forces Samir to find a new chef, so he calls in cab driver Akbar (Naseeruddin Shah), who once boasted to him that he cooked for Indira Gandhi years ago. Luckily enough, Akbar proves to be a food guru with a sure, instinctive touch in the kitchen, and soon he's dispensing life lessons to Samir along with guidance on how to combine a great garam masala -- the mix of spices Akbar describes as "the soul of Indian food."

There are major flaws: the narrative trajectory of the script, by Mandvi and Jonathan Bines, is too predictable. Some of the subplots feel overcooked, such as the unconvincing romance between Samir and former colleague Carrie (Jess Weixler), while other characters are underdeveloped, especially Samir's mother, who, though played by actress-turned-famed-cook Madhur Jaffrey, never goes near a kitchen in the whole film, which is perhaps some kind of in-joke. Plus, it seems odd that Samir would be so clueless initially about how to make the food he was raised on.

Nevertheless, the pic is too generous-spirited and colorfully rendered to dislike. At least the dishes look nicely styled at the end, although one doesn't sense the same passion for cooking here that's so enlivening in great food movies like "Big Night" or "Eat Drink Man Woman."

Tech credits are generally adequate, although the pic could use a tighter edit, especially with the trite montage sequences set to fey folkie tunes by songsters Goldspot.

Camera (color), David Tumblety; editor, Chris Houghton, Rich Fox; music, Stephane Wremble, Goldspot; production designer, Darcy C. Scanlin; art director, David Offner; set decorator, David Glazebrook; costume designer, Theresa Squire; sound designer/re-recording mixer (Dolby Digital), Cory Melious; supervising sound editor, Steve "Major" Giamarria. Reviewed at London Film Festival (World Cinema), Oct. 21, 2009. Running time: 99 MIN.