This summer, Pixar brought Ratatouille to the big screen, and
I've been itching all summer to make the trek to Tinseltown to watch
rats preparing gourmet meals. I haven't seen it yet, but yesterday I got
a sneak preview of another film involving the love of food.
No Reservations, a rare PG-rated live action film, is the benign tale of Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones),
an exceptional chef at an upscale Bleecker Street restaurant who has
plenty of reservations. Her life is ordered by rules, and she thinks
these restrictions are helping her to live a more fulfilled life. Her
boss Paula (Patricia Clarkson) isn't so sure, and neither is the hapless
therapist (Bob Balaban) Kate is seeing at her request, but Kate doesn't really begin to doubt it herself until two events turn her life upside-down.
While on her way to visit Kate, her sister dies in a car crash, leaving
Kate with the responsibility of caring for her young daughter, the
sullen Zoe (Abigail Breslin). Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Kate feels threatened by the arrival of cheerful, opera-loving sous chef Nick (Aaron Eckhart),
who claims that his whole reason for applying for this job was the
opportunity to work with her. Undeterred by her icy reception, he
continues to let his goodwill seep into the rest of the staff until a
turning point occurs when Kate brings Zoe along to work with her one day
and Nick charms her with his ability to get Zoe to smile and to eat
dinner.
Kate doesn't have the foggiest idea how to be a
guardian to this girl, but once she lets Nick into her good graces, she
finds a powerful ally in giving Zoe a sense of normalcy and security.
But how long can she keep her tendency toward jealousy at bay when Nick
begins putting down especially deep roots in her kitchen? Will
competitive ambition ruin this fledgling relationship?
No Reservations
is a pretty typical romantic film, with touches of comedy and a large
focus on the bond that develops between Zoe and Kate, as well as Zoe and
Nick. It's refreshingly chaste, with very little profanity and nothing
more intense than a couple of French kisses, and a jaunty opera-heavy
score sets a nice, mostly light-hearted tone.
Zeta-Jones and
Breslin both bring an appropriate solemnity to the film that blossoms
into joy as they begin to rebuild their lives around each other. Balaban
manages to make his brief, dry appearances enormously entertaining, and
Bryan F. O'Bourne plays the role of smitten neighbor Sean with
understated sweetness. But it's Eckhart who really steals the show, with
childlike, guileless enthusiasm. And his Viggo Mortensen-esque looks
only sweeten the deal...
You won't find a terribly complex
plot in this family-friendly film directed by Scott Hicks. You'll see
most of the key scenes coming long before they happen. Though the movie
begins with a death and includes a hefty dose of romance, it's unlikely
to plumb your emotional depths very far. But it's the sort of flick that
is just the ticket for a pleasant evening out, and I have no
reservations about recommending it.
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