No Reservations film review

certificate_PG

NO RESERVATIONS

Giving a romantic comedy involving two chefs the punning title of No Reservations suggests a traditionally cliched work, but to its credit, in comparison to more conventional examples of the genre, the film carries more substance and, if you'll indulge my culinary pun, less corn. Indeed, it's more accurate to describe this remake of the German film Mostly Martha as a romantic drama with comedic touches. Given further weight by three strong performances from its lead actors, No Reservations takes a subtler and more satisfying approach to reach its inevitable conclusion.

For those who still associate Aaron Eckhart with his breakout role as the vicious-tongued misogynist in Neil LaBute's In The Company Of Men it's hard to reconcile him with the easy- going and charming chef, Nick, he plays here. It's certainly not hard to see why the uptight, single-minded Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) would finally let down her long-standing un-breached defenses. The spark between Zeta-Jones and Eckhart is palpable and goes a long way to igniting No Reservations' success.

An early indication of the film's more sombre tone is the death of Kate's sister in a car accident. The career-obsessed head chef at a top Manhattan restaurant finds herself the guardian of her young niece Zoe (played with extraordinary maturity by Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine). Void of any natural maternal instincts, Kate struggles to relate to, and cope with, her niece.

As a result of her new role, Kate is reluctantly compelled to take time off work, prompting her boss (Patricia Clarkson) to bring in the 'exuberant' Nick to cover fro her. Feeling her position threatened, her instant dislike of the affable Nick prompts him to ask, 'Why are you so mad at me?' Zoe, on the other hand, takes an instant shine to Nick and sets about playing matchmaker.

For the most part No Reservations avoids all the implausible contrivances that generally permeate such films, but while the scenes involving Kate visiting her therapist provide light relief courtesy of the wonderfully droll Bob Balaban, they also come across as fake. Philip Glass' characteristically urgent and elegant score adds a sophisticated touch, while Scott Hicks' ungimmicky direction allows the film to breath and develop with a natural ease. Generally speaking too many cooks is considered a bad thing in a kitchen, but No Reservations proves, if it's the right two, then it's the perfect number.

Kevin Murphy