What we have here is a good movie that could have been great if it had not been so content to play by the rules. No Reservations is credited as being a remake of a 2001 German film called Mostly Martha. However, it doesn't take a sharp-eyed viewer to tell that it is probably even more inspired by just about every romantic comedy-drama released within the past 10 years. And yet, thanks to some inspired casting and interesting decisions, the movie doesn't come across as bad as it would in lesser hands. I have always stated that a formula movie can still entertain if the talent behind it cares about the material. Director Scott Hicks (Hearts in Atlantis, Shine) cared enough to leave me walking out of the theater mostly satisfied.

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a workaholic New York gourmet chef who has devoted her whole life to cooking and nothing else. She's so devoted, she spends most of her sessions with her therapist (Bob Balaban) talking about recipes and having him try her new culinary creations instead of talking about herself. Kate is forced to think about something other than the kitchen when her sister dies in a car accident while she was driving out to visit. Her sister's young daughter, Zoe (Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine) survived the crash, and since she never had a father or other close relatives, Zoe is going to have to live with Kate from now on. Not only does Kate have to learn how to care for a child, but her boss Paula (Patricia Clarkson) forces her to take time off for the first time in her life. When Kate comes back to work, she is shocked to discover a new chef working there who was supposed to be a temporary replacement while she was away, but has won over the boss and all the other chefs in the kitchen. He is Nick (Aaron Eckhart), and Kate immediately sees him as trespassing in her personal kitchen territory. As Kate struggles to adapt to these new changes in her life, she naturally starts to fall for both of the new people in her life, and will eventually learn to care about something other than herself and cooking.

There's very few surprises to be found in first-time screenwriter Carol Fuchs' script. Everything happens the way we expect it to. There are going to be a couple minor crises (Kate and Nick are afraid to get close to one another, and be honest with each other), some major crises (little Zoe disappears briefly after a short argument with Kate, which sends both Kate and Nick frantically searching the city for her), and a lot of scenes where the major characters bond with each other. As is the rule in the unwritten book of laws when it comes to writing a script for a romantic comedy, there also has to be a lot of music montages, and maybe a pillow fight or two. No Reservations does not let us down. The characters are so likeable, it's sometimes sad to see them in such a contrived, mechanical story. Fortunately, the film does not rely too strongly on its overly worn plot, and just lets us admire the characters. This is what gives the film its charm that ultimately won me over. Kate, Nick, and Zoe may not be the most original characters to hit the screen this year, but they are people I enjoyed watching, and was happy to see them get together. This is key in a movie such as this, since if we don't like the characters, we don't care if they work out their problems or not. I was also grateful that the characters were written as being mostly intelligent, and did not make overly stupid decisions for the sake of the plot.

The plotting may be conventional, but director Scott Hicks throws a couple of interesting twists our way. One is the casting of Catherine Zeta-Jones in the lead role. More well known for sexy or action-heavy characters, it's a switch to see her tackling a character such as this. Jones is up to the challenge, and makes Kate a fiery yet sympathetic woman who comes across as being a little bit more three dimensional than some other actresses would. We may know what's going to happen to her before she does, but we at least enjoy watching her catch up to us. As Nick, Aaron Eckhart has an immediate charm and instant chemistry with all of his scenes with Jones. The characters are opposites, but their performances make us see how they can be right for each other. His character is a bit more loose and free-spirited than Kate, but Eckhart wisely does not overplay this to the point of annoyance. Young Abigail Breslin once again gives another great performance, and only strengthens my notion that she is one of the better child actresses working today. Her character exists mainly to move the plot along, but Breslin still comes across as a natural kid who is just not acting cute for the camera. Another interesting choice outside of the cast is the decision to hire contemporary classical composer Philip Glass to do the music score for the film. His score gives a little more weight to the dramatic scenes, and manages to complement each accompanying scene quite well.
My only wish is that more chances had been taken with the script. The movie goes on too long, with an additional 15 minutes or so of crises and apology scenes when it could have ended a little bit sooner on a much better note. Still, as it stands, No Reservations does at least manage to stay afloat thanks to the charm of its cast. There's been quite a few movies about cooking released this summer with this, Waitress, and Ratatouille all hitting the screen within months of each other. The other two films have been individual highlights of 2007 so far, and while No Reservations doesn't quite reach the heights of the previous two, it still manages to entertain enough.

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