Chef's Special
Encyclopedia
Chef's Special is a Spanish
film
directed by Nacho García Velilla that centers on homosexuality
and the decision to come out. It focuses on men who have had relationships with women to hide their own sexuality, to the point of even having kids. The film also deals with the theme of single parents. It stars Javier Cámara
, Benjamín Vicuña
, Lola Dueñas
, and Fernando Tejero
. The film premiered in Spain on April 11, 2008 and was a success in the box office, earning almost 1 million Euros in its first weekend and ending the year as the sixth highest-grossing Spanish film grossing 5,107,626.41 €. It received fourteen award nominations—including two Goya Awards
-- winning six of them. The critical reception was not as favorable, receiving negative reviews from important publications like El País, El Mundo
, and ABC.
) is the chef and owner of a restaurant, Xantarella, who aspires to win a Michelin Star but is having financial difficulties. He helps Álex (Lola Dueñas
), a maître d’ who is desperately looking for a boyfriend. It has been a while since Maxi has come out of the closet and declared his homosexuality
. Since then, he left behind his wife and his two children whom he hasn’t seen in the last seven years. His wife’s death leads to him to have to take care of his two estranged kids. Meanwhile, an Argentinian soccer player, Horacio (Benjamín Vicuña
), comes into Maxi and Alex’s lives and passes himself off as heterosexual when in reality he’s homosexual. The film develops from the love triangle formed between Maxi, Álex, and Horacio, Maxi’s responsibility to his kids, and the future of the restaurant.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Nacho García Velilla that centers on homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and the decision to come out. It focuses on men who have had relationships with women to hide their own sexuality, to the point of even having kids. The film also deals with the theme of single parents. It stars Javier Cámara
Javier Cámara
Javier Cámara is a Spanish actor, most notably in the Pedro Almodóvar films Talk to Her and Bad Education , and the television series 7 Vidas ....
, Benjamín Vicuña
Benjamín Vicuña
Benjamín Vicuña Luco is a Chilean television actor. He studied theatre at the University of Chile. He is a descendant of Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, a Chilean historian and politician of Basque and Irish descent....
, Lola Dueñas
Lola Dueñas
Lola Dueñas is a Spanish actress.She is the daughter of Nicolás Dueñas and studied in the Institut del Teatre of Barcelona.- Selected filmography :*Los Abrazos Rotos...
, and Fernando Tejero
Fernando Tejero
Fernando Tejero Muñoz-Torrero is a Spanish actor who spent his childhood and adolescence in Córdoba, Andalucía.Since he was very young, Tejero knew he wanted to be an actor. However his father wanted Tejero to become a bullfighter...
. The film premiered in Spain on April 11, 2008 and was a success in the box office, earning almost 1 million Euros in its first weekend and ending the year as the sixth highest-grossing Spanish film grossing 5,107,626.41 €. It received fourteen award nominations—including two Goya Awards
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
-- winning six of them. The critical reception was not as favorable, receiving negative reviews from important publications like El País, El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
, and ABC.
Plot
Maxi (Javier CámaraJavier Cámara
Javier Cámara is a Spanish actor, most notably in the Pedro Almodóvar films Talk to Her and Bad Education , and the television series 7 Vidas ....
) is the chef and owner of a restaurant, Xantarella, who aspires to win a Michelin Star but is having financial difficulties. He helps Álex (Lola Dueñas
Lola Dueñas
Lola Dueñas is a Spanish actress.She is the daughter of Nicolás Dueñas and studied in the Institut del Teatre of Barcelona.- Selected filmography :*Los Abrazos Rotos...
), a maître d’ who is desperately looking for a boyfriend. It has been a while since Maxi has come out of the closet and declared his homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Since then, he left behind his wife and his two children whom he hasn’t seen in the last seven years. His wife’s death leads to him to have to take care of his two estranged kids. Meanwhile, an Argentinian soccer player, Horacio (Benjamín Vicuña
Benjamín Vicuña
Benjamín Vicuña Luco is a Chilean television actor. He studied theatre at the University of Chile. He is a descendant of Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, a Chilean historian and politician of Basque and Irish descent....
), comes into Maxi and Alex’s lives and passes himself off as heterosexual when in reality he’s homosexual. The film develops from the love triangle formed between Maxi, Álex, and Horacio, Maxi’s responsibility to his kids, and the future of the restaurant.