Fuera de carta (2008)

Energetic performances from Almodóvar regulars Javier Cámara (Talk to Her) and Lola Dueñas (Volver) anchor this wholly entertaining farce bustling with quick-witted dialogue and comical hi-jinks.

Bright, breezy and briskly directed by Nacho G. Velilla, this Spanish delight was the Opening Night of the Lincoln Center’s Spanish Cinema Now and even had The New York Times declaring it “a raucous comedy.”

Chef Maxi (Camára) has plenty on his plate. Between running a high-end restaurant, keeping it in the black and corralling his unpredictable staff, who could begrudge him a foul-mouthed outburst, or two, or several? His best gal pal and next door neighbor Alex (Dueñas) is desperate to find a good man while sous-chef Ramiro can’t put his hard-partying days behind him. Add to the mix an unexpected reunion with two estranged children and a blossoming gay romance with a closeted international athlete, and you’ve got one troubled gourmet. Now the Michelin Guide food critic is coming to review his restaurant and it whips Maxi into such a frenzy the he must learn to juggle the new dynamics his children and lover bring to the table, with over-the-top, hilarious results.