My wife watched No Reservations, directed by Scott Hicks, the other day and wanted to watch it again. I hadn’t watched it before so I figured why not. It isn’t a perfect film, but there is a charm about it that makes it enjoyable. The performances are good, but the story feels a little too busy. I give No Reservations the Decent Watch rating.
No Reservations plot summary:
Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the head chef of an upscale restaurant and is completely content with her single life. That is until Zoe (Abigail Breslin) needs her Aunt Kate after her mother dies in a car accident leaving Kate as her guardian. Kate’s homelife has been flipped upside down and in her absence a new sous chef, Nick (Aaron Eckhart), threatens to ruin her work life, too.
I haven’t seen too many of Aaron Eckhart’s films. I mainly know him as Harvey Dent from the Dark Knight. He is rather charming in this film and definitely made this romantic comedy a little more tolerable. However, I’m becoming a big fan of Abigail Breslin. She was really great in Little Miss Sunshine and I loved her in Zombieland. Here, she is the emotional story of the movie and her plight is much more relatable than Kate’s. Yet, Catherine Zeta-Jones is really good in this film. She is always good at playing a sophisticated women, but here there is a weakness and longing she demonstrates. It works really well to earn our sympathy throughout the film.
The downside to me is most of the story feels disconnected. I predicted at some point child services would be involved. It seems a trope in films with a person taking on the parental role for the first time. However, the threat seems forced and unnecessary in the film. The story is about Kate and Zoe building a relationship that is almost non-existent. There is no need for the external threat of child services. We learn early that Kate doesn’t do well with relationships. Now she is developing one with Nick and Zoe at the same time. That is enough to carry the film. A little bit of cleanup and the film could have been a little tighter.
Last thoughts on No Reservations
Even so, the film was enjoyable. There isn’t as much time spent cooking as I would have expected. It does help connect the characters though. However, Kate really never cooks with Zoe or Nick. It seems like that could have been a great way to bond that she never used. Probably just a character flaw.
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