People are voting emotionally.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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."

This movie was filled with humor, which made the family conflicts (mother's aspirations for her son, and father's grief over a loss), bearable and at times downright funny. The cultural baggage of the Indo-Pakistani participants was both credible and (fortunately) not exaggerated.This is a film about relationships: an aspiring chef to his food and public, a mother and father to a son, and the lead character to a co-worker. Perhaps the most interesting and important relationship turns out to be between Akbar the cab driver and the would be chef. There are not a lot of well done portrayals of a wise mentor and carrying this one off with a gentle light shined on both life and food, was surprisingly effective.All in all, very entertaining with a many good messages, presented without appearing preachy.

This is a heartfelt, amusing film starring Aasif Mandvi, mostly known for his work as a Daily Show correspondent. It's not quite as funny as I expected from a comedian of his caliber; not because he tried and failed, but because it's more of a quirky story of a personal journey. But there were definitely a good number of lines that were so funny I had to repeat them out loud to myself. It's a bit slow in the beginning (could have used some tighter editing), but give it some time to build. Naseeruddin Shah is magic, as always. If you know his work, nothing more needs to be said. If not, watch this and enjoy. (And I gotta say, I think he looks damn good for his age!) It is not a coincidence that the song Akbar (Shah) is listening to when Samir (Mandvi) first meets him is from a classic Hindi film in which the character says that although all his clothes come from other countries, his heart is still Indian. Samir has tried to cut himself off from Indian traditions, even while his parents are attempting to shove them down his throat; the more they push, the more he pulls away, and vise versa. Throughout the film, with help from unexpected places, he learns to reconcile his western life with his heritage, and appreciate where he came from.

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.