| In the Movie |
In the Movie |
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Set in southwest USA. Hispanic Family of widower and three adult daughters.
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Set in Taiwan. Chinese widower with three adult daughters. |
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Father (Martin) is a chef at a Mexican restaurant. Daughter #1 is chemistry teacher (Leticia) and devout Christian, #2 is a executive at a company (Carmen), #3 is a fast food worker (Meribel) and planning to go to college.
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Father (Chu) is a chef at a large Chinese restaurant. Daughter #1 is chemistry teacher (Jia-Jen), and a devout Christian, #2 is a executive at a company (Jia-Chien), #3 is a fast food worker (Jia-Ning), and in college.
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Meribel makes out with Andy (from Brazil) soon after poaching him from her friend. They bond over music.
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Jia-Ning's co-worker ends (sort of) her relationship with her boyfriend. Jai-Ning gets to know him and they start dating. He is a amateur photographer; he shows her how to develop photos in his darkroom. |
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Carmen cooks for an ex boyfriend she still has sex with.
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Jia-Chien has a casual sexual relationship with her ex-boyfriend and enjoys cooking for him as she is not allowed to cook in her father's kitchen.
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Antonio is an executive who hired Carmen to research a company he is interested in buying.
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Li Kal is a negotiator brought in to assist Jia-Chien in the purchase of air routes for the airline she works for. |
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Antonio offers Carmen a job in Barcelona, Spain. She is looking forward to it.
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Jia-Chien is offered a promotion within her company but would have to move to Amsterdam; she is not sure if she will accept it.
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Hortensia actively pursues Martin, she dances with him at his house.
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Madame Liang (Jin-Rong's mother) visits Mr. Chu often with her daughter and granddaughter, he tolerates her. |
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The daughters are amused by Hortensia going after their father.
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The daughters do not like Madame Liang at all; they call her a witch behind her back.
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Meribel invites Andy to dinner where Meribel announces that she is going to postpone college. Her dad orders her to follow his rules. So she says she will move in with Andy, to Andy's great surprise. Martin is upset and thinks Andy is stealing his daughter away.
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Jia-Ning announces at dinner that she met a man and is pregnant. She brings him to dinner to introduce him to her father, and then moves out with him. Mr. Chu does not react much. |
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Leticia is an old maid; she stopped dating after a boyfriend dumped her.
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Jia-Jen has never tried to have a relationship and made up a story about a boyfriend who abandoned her to avoid interacting with other men.
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Leticia interrupts a baseball game to thank Olando for the love letters, he has no idea what she is talking about; she walks away embarrassed. After exposing the students for writing the letters, she expresses her love again for Orlando.
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Jia-Jen discovers that the letters were written by someone else after she sees that Raymond is not interested in her. She uses the school PA to threaten those who wrote the letters and finds out some students were messing with her. She then professes her love for him. |
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Meribel drives Andy crazy by re-arranging his small apartment and losing his things.
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She does not.
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Leticia announces at dinner that she got married to Orlando quickly so that they could make love without living in sin. Martin is unhappy.
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Jia-Jen announces that she married Raymond for love and lust, she moves out after dinner. Mr. Chu does not get upset. |
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Meribel criticizes Andy a lot while they are living together. She starts trashing his place and acting like a bitch. She moves out.
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Jia-Ning and her husband have no discord.
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After Gomez dies, Martin worries about the restaurant
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Mr. Chu is planning on retiring anyway. |
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This does not happen.
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Jia-Chen loses her life savings when the condo developer runs away with all of the deposits after the land is shown to be too toxic to build upon.
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After Gomez passes away, Carmen visits her old boyfriend and sees him with another woman, she leaves angry, then decides to accept the new job offer from Antonio
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When an old family friend dies, Jia-Chien visits her ex-boyfriend but sees him with another woman. She later meets him for lunch where he says he is getting married but wants to continue their affair. She leaves and vomits outside. |
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Andy comes to Meribel's home and asks her to move back in with him. He was accepted to the same college as Meribel. They kiss and make up.
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Jia-Ning and her husband are happily living in his parents house while they are out of the country on business.
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Martin, his daughters, Orlando, Andy, Yolonda, Hortensia and April met for dinner, Carmen cooks.
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They all meet for the usual Sunday dinner. Mr. Chu sends formal invitations as he has an important announcement. Jia-Chien is not allowed to cook in her father's house. |
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When Martin asks Hortensia's permission to marry her daughter, Yolanda is a bit surprised but accepts. His daughters are supportive and happy. Hortensia faints.
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Chu and Jin-Rong planned to marry as soon as her divorced was final. Mr. Chu's daughters are shocked and do not approve. Madame Laing collapses and says she wants to go back to America. It is a very stressful dinner for all of them.
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Martin drives Carmen to the airport, gives her a set of knives for her kitchen in Spain.
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Mr. Chu sells the old house, buys a new one and lives with his new wife and her daughter. Jai-Chien accepts the promotion in Amsterdam. |
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While Martin is packing up to move to his new house, Carmen returns, she will stay in America.
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Jia-Chien cooks dinner for everyone at the old house, but Jia-Ning is sleeping after having her baby, Jia-Jen's husband is being baptized and Jin-Rong (Chu's new wife) is pregnant but slightly ill. Chu and Jia-Chien will eat alone in the old house.
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Martin samples some of Carmen's cooking and realizes he can taste again. They are both very happy.
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When Jia-Chien asks her father if he is having a boy or a girl, he says he doesn't want to know. She teases that it might be another daughter. |
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The family gets together for dinner at a restaurant where Carmen is the chef. Yolanda announces she is pregnant with a girl. Happy and fun ending.
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When Chu samples the soup, he comments that Jia-Chien added too much spice, then stops talking. He realizes he can taste again. Father and daughter touch hands then address each other as dad and daughter. Very touching ending.
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