Review of No Reservations (2007) by Vivienne D — 29 Mar 2009

It seems that the more I watch this movie the crapper it gets. The script is awful and there are way too many musical sequences attempting to pad-out the storyline. There are parts where you can tell the director told them to ad lib their dialogue while they play some random song over it. It's like the directer thinks no one minds if the characters are saying things like "Yeah sure uh huh right oh really yep uh huh" during crucial character-developing moments as long as there's pleasant music playing over it. Some of the montage sequences are painful, particularly the ones involving the three main characters riding three-person bikes and playing in photo-booths.

Catherine Zeta-Jones does a good job as Kate, and Aaron Eckhart is also well-cast as the male lead. The problem is that characters like Aaron Eckhart's sous-chef don't actually exist in real life. If they did, they wouldn't be single, and they'd never fall for uptight bitches like Kate. He's basically the gary-stu creation of a lonely writer. He's good in the kitchen, he's funny, he's insanely good looking, he likes romantic music, he's loyal, and he's good with kids.

And here's another thing that really annoys me. Kate is always leaving her niece alone with random guys. Why would a character who has massive trust issues let their date pick up their niece, take them to bed ALONE and tuck them in? Why would a character who has massive trust issues tell their single mid-thirties neighbour to come inside their house several times a night to check on their niece and make sure she's still tucked in? Who wouldn't freak the hell out when they open the door to their own house and find this guy in there? Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Oprah would know that's where the warning bells start going off.

Sure it's an extremely unfair stereotype. Not all guys over the age of thirty who play with children that aren't their own are paedofiles. Some people are just NICE. But seriously, leaving your kids alone with strangers in general is a really bad idea.