No Reservations
Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin
Release Date: July 27, 2007

If you’re a foodie like me, the new film No Reservations will entice you not because of stunning stars Catherine Zeta-Jones or Aaron Eckhart, but for the best props a film has ever had: mouth-watering dishes like scallops with saffron sauce, foie gras, and quail with truffles that’ll have you excited about the film you are about to see.

Kate (Zeta-Jones) is a successful master chef at premier eatery 22 Bleecker Street, yet her unhealthy obsession with work results in an inability to open up to people. Reluctantly admitting to her shrink that she hasn’t dated in three years, she starts to crumble fast. But in a turn of events, vibrant niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin), Sous-chef Nick (Eckhart)—an opera-singing, free spirit who can’t be more opposite than uptight Kate—suddenly crash into her world. Can they help her re-ignite a passion for life that matches her passion for food?

I was skeptical about sophisticated Zeta-Jones as a chef, yet she plays Kate with both finesse and vulnerability, and even impresses with a knack for pan-tossing and plating skills (she volunteered  as a waitress at New York bistro Fiamma Osteria to prepare for her role). Also, cute scenes abound; in one scene, Zoe, after taking a whiff of some rotten-looking mushrooms, quickly discards them into the trash (unaware that what she just threw away were truffles.) But ultimately, what makes the film work is the undeniable chemistry between polar opposites Kate and Nick, which is both amusing and poignant to watch.