We're again at 250 words for our next assignment, the mixed review.
In cooking, sometimes ingredients taste terrific on their own but become less palatable when combined. Such is the case with No Reservations, a comedy/drama/romance hybrid about chefs and children whose elements mix together in awkward fashion.
The story of career-oriented, single chef Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) inheriting her tween niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin), after the girl’s mother dies implies a tear-jerker. Yet other parts - a swaggering, hunky rival (Aaron Eckhart); the pressures of a swank New York City restaurant; anger-therapy sessions - suggest No Reservations falls more into chick-flick territory.
Carol Fuchs’ screenplay, based on the German film Mostly Martha, handles the lighter elements well. Kate’s sessions with her therapist are an amusing treat, and the energy of fictional restaurant 22 Bleecker has one wanting a reservation pronto. As Kate’s boss, the tart Patricia Clarkson evokes my childhood dream of being a sophisticated career woman with fabulous clothes.
But the Zoe storyline, which shapes every part of this busy film, seems more appropriate for a mawkish weepie. Clunky lines about wanting a cookbook for life go down like overripe cheese.
Director Scott Hicks makes the city look sleek and attractive; in particular, he captures the dual-edged nature of a bright February day in the West Village, when the glistening, sparkling sun tries but fails to mask the bitter chill. That’s also a metaphor for Zeta-Jones’ performance: She looks approachably pretty, a switch from her usual glamour, but never warms up as she should. Perhaps too many vegetables spoiled her stew.
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