On Life's Menu: Eat, Drink, Man, Woman and Child
The Popcorn Reel Movie Review: "No Reservations"
By Omar P.L. Moore/July 28, 2007
Like Night and Day (Day or Night): Catherine Zeta-Jones as
Kate, a workmanlike chef who knows that food is the bottom line. Until
romance comes along in the form of Nick, played by Aaron Eckhart. (Photos:
Warner Brothers)
If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, as the old axiom goes, then
how do you melt an ice queen's heart -- if that queen of coldness and detachment
is one of New York City's top chefs?
That's almost exactly the scenario on the menu of "No Reservations", a romantic
drama directed by Scott Hicks which opened across the U.S. and Canada yesterday.
Note the word "drama", because that's essentially what the film is, although it
packs a few laughs and small moments of amusement. Abigail Breslin (Oscar
nominee of
"Little Miss Sunshine") plays Zoe, who has suffered pain in her life.
Her aunt Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) assumes caretaking duties, even
as she has psychological issues that her therapist Bob Balaban has to iron
out. Food sometimes may compromise his judgment, but it rarely (with a few
notable exceptions) compromises the opinions of the patrons of 22 Bleecker, the
esteemed (and real) restaurant where Kate is queen and king of the kitchen.
And woe betide anyone who dares object to her cooking.
Nick (Aaron Eckhart) has a pedigree as a sous-chef from an Italian restaurant.
A connoisseur of unbridled fun and frivolity, he believes that music is the food
of life, and his kitchen histrionics reveal as much. He has arrived at 22
Bleecker to relieve Kate as she takes time to cope with events that have
occurred in the film. So with "No Reservations", a match made in food
heaven doesn't occur as much as slowly evolves, which makes Mr. Hicks's film a
good one -- as the situations which develop between Kate and Nick are, as in
life itself -- often slow and deliberate. Which is what sets this film
apart from many opposites-attract Hollywood movie stories -- no gloss, very
little emotional manipulation, and rarely any predictability in the screenplay
by Carol Fuchs and Sandra Nettelbeck.
The film's visual tone starts with starkness, cold-bluish hues from
cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh and progressively warms up as Kate and Nick's
tension-filled relationship inevitably thaws. But it does take some time
to reach that plateau, and credit the writers for not packing the film with the
time-worn cliches any viewer of romantic films has come to expect. Ms.
Fuchs and Ms. Nettelbeck -- the latter wrote the screenplay for and directed the
2001 film "Mostly Martha" on which this new film is based -- also don't script a
wildly over-the-top character, thus eliminating the need for hysterical
cardboard cutouts figures trapped in an existential crisis, which also hasn't
been a novelty on the big screen. (The original 2001 film starred "Lives
Of Others" actor Martina Gedeck and the great Sergio Castellito as the rival
chefs.)
So with a simple premise and structure, the writers, the director and the actors
adhere to a rule of old: K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid.) Maybe lines
like "I wish there were a cookbook for life," may sound a little sappy and
tired, but "No Reservations" demonstrates that you can achieve a sincere, warm
and engaging film, and make it humorous and endearing while crafting an atypical
love story. The film also illustrates the pitfalls of romance on the job
between employees, and while that isn't new on the big screen (or in real life),
it is refreshing to see how the theme unfolds here.
While Eckhart's Nick doesn't transform from his persona as a somewhat
magnanimous chef, he becomes a more confident figure. More could have been
written to establish why he hasn't attained even higher heights in his life --
"you've got to let people in sometimes, Kate", he says -- yet the audience knows
little about Nick as a person. Still, what we glean is enough to make us
understand that he has been retarded by a lack of confidence as much as Kate has
been hindered by a lack of trust. These two character foibles exist well
within "No Reservations", neither overshadowing nor subsuming the narrative.
When you have a earthy, quietly seductive performance by Patricia Clarkson (as
22 Bleecker owner Paula) and the always light-hearted and humorous Bob Balaban
in a film, you aren't doing much wrong, and "No Reservations" hits all the right
notes. Miss Breslin, who will become a huge acting success (she's already
on her way) in years to come, speaks volumes with her facial expressions.
It may not always be a bright, sunshine-y day for her Zoe, but she shines
through in whatever she does on the big screen. Where some actors of her
tender age would ignore the rule of not over-emphasizing movement for the
magnifying big screen cameras, Breslin conveys it all simply and directly.
Mr. Hicks' camera does the rest.
So a word of advice: eat, drink and be merry. "No Reservations" is a
hearty treat.
"No Reservations" opened yesterday across
North America and is rated PG for some sensuality and language. The film's
duration is one hour and 45 minutes.
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