No Reservations

When I first got this movie, I thought it was your typical romantic comedy. I got it for my wife who has yet to watch it. Figures.

Anyway, No Reservations stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Kate, the head chef at some hoidy-toidy restaurant in New York City. No one there really likes her, but she runs a tight ship and the food is good. In fact, I was getting hungry watching the movie. And now I'm getting hungry while writing this review.

Kate's sister and niece are coming to visit her, but sadly, Kate's sister is killed in a car accident. Kate is forced to take in her niece, a prospect that does not exactly excite her. She's been without a date for several years and this will not help matters. The girl, Abigail Breslin (Definitely, Maybe; Little Miss Sunshine), obviously distraught over the loss of her mother, must now learn to live with with an aunt who's clueless about raising a child. This is evident with the dishes that she makes her for dinner and the ones she packs her for lunch. All kids like Mandarin chicken over marinated saffron and pork rice for their school lunch, right???

Meanwhile, the owner of the restaurant, Patricia Clarkson (Lars and the Real Girl, Good Night and Good Luck) decides to hire a suex chef while Kate is on bereavement. When Kate returns to work, Nick (Aaron Eckhart - The Dark Knight, Thank You For Smoking), is running a fun kitchen with music and laughter, yet still turning out wonderful dishes. Did I mention that I'm really hungry?

Fearing that her job and kitchen are endangered, Kate and Nick squabble and threaten each other, pretty much for the rest of the movie. Kate brings her niece to the restaurant and she falls in love with the whole atmosphere, plus she loves hanging out with Nick. So guess what? Nick and Kate fall for each other. Here's the romantic part of romantic-comedy. So maybe it's a romantic-drama.

Now the problem is - will the restaurant succeed with both of them and can they work and date together? Only watching this movie will tell.

This 2007 movie is rate PG for "some sensuality" and language. No Reservations is 104 minutes, so that's a buck 40 that you'll have to suck it up if you're watching this with your lady or sensitive boyfriend. I give this movie 3 stars. It's predictable, but no so much in a bad way. You know what you're getting when you watch the movie and you shouldn't be disappointed. And as the pun of the title implies, you should no reservations about watching this movie. Get it?