No Reservations

No Reservations ***

Directed by Scott Hicks
Written by Carol Fuchs, based on the screenplay "Mostly Martha" by Sandra Nettelbeck

Starring:
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Kate
Aaron Eckhart as Nick
Abigail Breslin as Zoe
Patricia Clarkson as Paula
Jenny Wade as Leah
Bob Balaban as Therapist
Brian F. O'Byrne as Sean

105 Minutes(Rated PG for some sensuality and language. )
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"No Reservations" is a nice, light-sometimes somber affair-and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. This won't win awards for originality, but it's well made, well acted, and well executed. It takes a story that is a prime target to be ridden with cliches, and it avoids, for the most part, a couple of them, even though at times it does succumb to scenes and images that we've seen a million times before. But I enjoyed it. It's sweet, and that's what it sets out to do. It takes a story we've seen before, and does it well, and for that reason it is a nice two hours to spend at the theatre on a hot day. There is nothing to expect from it, and you get what you think you're going to get out of it. Being the first top billing for Catherine Zeta Jones in some time, you have to wonder if maybe she really saw something in the script to want to do it. . . or perhaps she just needs some quick money. Ironically, this film both offers a decent script, and it obviously gave the actors a paycheck.

Catherine Zeta Jones plays Kate, who is possibly the best chef in New York. But at great cost. She may be the head chef in a kitchen in Manhattan, but she also does not have a boyfriend, no real people to call her friends, and she is seeing a therapist on order from the restaurant manager-she, on occasion, freaks out whenever a customers complains about her food. One night her sister is supposed to come and visit, but she gets into a car accident instead. Her sister dies, and Kate is left to care for her niece-the young Zoey. Kate doesn't know anything about raising a child, but is doing is because it was her sister's wish in case anything ever happened to her. Kate takes a few days off, and finds that there is a new chef in the kitchen-Nick. Kate is ticked because she likes to be in charge of who she works with, and the two have a rocky start. But, like in all romance movies, she has a change of heart, and with the help of the prodding nine year old besides her ends up finally finding true love, yada yada yada. . .

It isn't the most original story-and it's even a remake of a German film "Mostly Martha"-but its sweet in its own way. It is surprisingly engrossing, and there are many laughs to be have-especially the scenes with Bob Balaban as Kate's quirky psychiatrist. The three main leads-Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and young Abigail Breslin who really has to avoid becoming another Dakota Fanning-all work well together, and make multiple dimensions in their characters. Of course at times the film does succumb to a few "family friendly" cliches. When Kate and Zoey finally start to connect, there is that pillow fight scenes where the feathers all fall out, and there is that image of them on the floor with the slow motion feathers falling all over them. One thing that struck me a bit odd was how the film never explored Kate's feelings about taking on a child. She never seemed like it was disrupting her life, and she never blamed the child for changing her life in such a big way. This was a nice touch, as she really does seem to want to help the child.

The film also avoids a courtroom scene, which I thought we would see. At one point, Zoey's principle tells Kate that she has been falling asleep during class-this is because she spends so many late hours at the restaurant-and there was the phrase "call child services." And in my head I was imaging a courtroom scene where she is gaining custody of the kid, and in a weaker film they would have tried to tug at the heartstrings a bit too hard, but this avoids that greatly, and the term "child services" is never brought up again. Instead the incident seems more of a way for Kate to discover the mistakes that she is making, to try and become a better mother.

Lastly I'll mention the music. Philip Glass was on board for this one, and I found it strange when I saw his name in the credits. I'm used to him composing these majestic scores for such period dramas as "The Hours" and "The Illusionist," or "Notes on a Scandal." And seeing him doing this wide release Hollywood romance was a change of pace, but he falters not at all, and does music just as majestic as this independent films. It's great work, as usual. "No Reservations" is a nice little two hours spent at the theatre. It isn't perfect, but it's charming and ultimately winning.

Playing at:

Mostly everywhere.