Review of No Reservations (2007) by Dedy N C — 15 Jun 2010

(from The Watermark, 08/23/2007).

Zeta-Jones is a workaholic restaurant chef in charge of her own kitchen with no sense of humor and no love life. When her sister dies unexpectedly, Zeta-Jones suddenly finds herself the parent and guardian to her niece (Breslin). While adjusting to motherhood and the death of her sibling, she is also confronted with her replacement chef (Eckhart), a free spirit who turns her orderly kitchen upside down. You can already see what's cooking...opposites attract, and these two are the odd couple that we end up rooting for. The film struggles as it tries to walk the tightrope of new-love-happiness and grieving-death-sadness, but it mostly succeeds. Most important to any romantic comedy is the chemistry between the lovers; putting a kid into the mix can get very tricky. Fortunately all three of this film's stars work exceptionally well together. The shaggy hair and scruffy beard can't tone down Eckhart's super-hotness (I'd certainly order him if he were on the menu). Zeta-Jones works hard to keep her natural sensuality in check, and Breslin is achingly poignant in all of her scenes (and every bit as good as she was in Little Miss Sunshine). What the film lacks is a believable relationship complication (the one the film gives us feels very forced and contrived), and if you've got a story about chefs, for heaven's sake, use the food more! Other films have capitalized on the erotic properties of food, No Reservations misses a grand opportunity.