What You Wish For is a 2023 American thriller film written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay, and starring Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, and Penelope Mitchell.

Ryan, a talented yet struggling chef burdened by gambling debts, escapes to an unnamed Latin American country (later revealed as Colombia) to seek refuge with his friend and former culinary school roommate, Jack.

Alice ends up sleeping with Jack, while Ryan receives menacing texts from the gambling syndicate threatening his mother if he doesn't repay his debts.

He persuades Imogen to pay a partial amount in advance and uses the funds to settle his gambling debts and protect his mother.

To cover their tracks, Imogen sends a fabricated email to the detective's sister, claiming José had eloped to Bogotá.

[4] Principal photography was started in Colombia at a location south of Bogotá in autumn of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, after Tomnay and his wife had found sufficient funds to get the project under way, and after securing assistance from the Freestyle Picture producers.

[4] Tomnay stated in the same May 2024 interview that inspiration for the film's script had come from "a disastrous school reunion with a couple of friends from Sydney" in Las Vegas.

[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

[12] Mary Beth McAndrews from Dread Central wrote in her upbeat review: "What You Wish For is a delightfully skeezy thriller about desperation and searching for that one life-changing meal.

"[16] Courtney Howard of Variety was less enthusiastic about the film, stating, "The obvious Aesop's Fables-inspired lessons make what could've been an extraordinary meal into something far less memorable.

"[17] Fred Topel of United Press International also gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Plays like the B-movie knockoff of last year's The Menu.