Movie Reviews

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Review in a Hurry:  Fighting robots, exploding cars—bombastic summer movies can be a headache, literally. No Reservations may be just the cure.

The Bigger Picture:  In this redux of the 2002 German hit Mostly Martha, an improbably skinny Catherine Zeta-Jones stars an uptight chef named Kate. She embodies the oh so familiar archetype of a woman whose perfectionist personality was forged by a fierce climb to the top of her industry—in this case, the cutthroat culinary world of New York City. Even though Kate has made it as an executive chef of a chic restaurant, everything, from the way she plates to the way she pleats (Zeta-Jones ties on her apron with hilarious precision) is pristine.

Naturally, Kate's world needs to be upended for this movie to go anywhere. So, Kate's sister dies (another brave soul lost to the romantic comedy paradigm!) and she takes in her orphaned niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin).

While taking time off to mourn her sister and get up to speed with the whole parenting thing, restaurant owner Paula (a crisp Patricia Clarkson) hires Nick (Aaron Eckhart) to help out, inflaming Kate's fear of losing her status as the kitchen's top chef. Nick, however, is simply too perfect to be denied. With him, Kate and Zoe's life is filled with tandem biking on a glorious sunny day, cooking fluffy pancakes and eating pizza while camping out on the living room floor. Gag.

Or...not. Seasoned director Scott Hicks (Oscar-nominated for Shine) has the finesse to gently lure the audience into this fantasy, burnishing the type-A-chick and dream-man-hunk clichés with wit and realism. His camerawork is sophisticated, and the actors deliver. No Reservations is a romance with a delicate touch—an appropriate palate cleanser in between noisy summer action flicks.

The 180—a Second Opinion:  Hick's light hand still can't hide the fact that No Reservations is a conventional chick flick at heart. From the fumbling-first-kiss scene to the inevitable photo-booth montage (shouldn't these just be banned forever?), bits of the movie are simply overdone.