No Reservations - a quick bite

Patman · 07-28-07, 10:14 PM

This film features one of Catherine Zeta-Jones's more accessible characters (Kate), a chef with a driven, Type A, personality who suddenly has to take care of her niece after tragedy strikes. Life changes for Kate and her niece Zoey and through their unlikely pairing, Kate finds herself open to change, albeit begrudgingly. Unlike most of Zeta-Jones's films, she gets to carry this film on her shoulders, and she does a good job, and it's refreshing to see her downplay her looks, often looking like she wasn't wearing much make-up, in concurrence with her character's career as the head chef. Abigail Breslin is a scene-stealer in practically every one of her scenes, and Aaron Eckhardt is more than up to the task in his role as a fellow chef and potential romantic interest for Kate.

It's not the most original of premises, but the performances and cast chemistry make it an easy film to digest. I left the theater very hungry for steak.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.

nateman · 07-29-07, 08:38 AM

Very nice review Patman

I'm not a fan of romantic comedies at all & it's one of the "Which movie themes turns you off". I am however look foward to seeing this movie once it's released on DVD. I'm not a huge fan of Catherine Zeta-Jones either but like you said, she looks like she is wearing less make-up & downplaying her looks. I think Eckhart has been making some pretty good movies as of late & he always puts on a pretty decent performance. I don't always like child actors like Dakota Fanning but Abigail Breslin seems to have some actual true acting talent & it's nice that she hasn't appeared in ten billion movies in a span of a year like Fanning yet.
Anyways enough of my rambling, I just wanted to say that I'm looking foward to this movie even through i'm not a fan of romantic comedies & does Gordon Ramsay make an appearance?

DVD Josh · 07-30-07, 10:12 AM

The final line of the trailer makes me laugh every time I hear it:

CZJ - "I wish there was a cookbook for life"
SRG - "Don't know its the recipes you make yourself that always taste the best?"

Mopower · 07-30-07, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DVD Josh

The final line of the trailer makes me laugh every time I hear it:

CZJ - "I wish there was a cookbook for life"
SRG - "Don't know its the recipes you make yourself that always taste the best?"

Cue Paula Cole's I don't want to wait song.

Trevor · 08-05-07, 11:32 AM

Sorta liked this. I thought it was going to be more romantic comedy, but it had a lot of

Spoiler:

But it was enjoyable either way. Good date movie, solid performances from the leads.

The Bus · 08-06-07, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mopower

Cue Paula Cole's I don't want to wait song.

I don't know if that's in the trailer, but I don't ever want to find out.

starseed1981 · 08-06-07, 02:22 PM

I'll netflix this.

brizz · 08-06-07, 09:17 PM

i was surprised to hear them say "rated PG" at the end of the ad i saw....seems like that rarely happens anymore.

07-28-07, 10:14 PM	#1
Patman DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Duluth, GA, USA Posts: 34,378	No Reservations - a quick bite This film features one of Catherine Zeta-Jones's more accessible characters (Kate), a chef with a driven, Type A, personality who suddenly has to take care of her niece after tragedy strikes. Life changes for Kate and her niece Zoey and through their unlikely pairing, Kate finds herself open to change, albeit begrudgingly. Unlike most of Zeta-Jones's films, she gets to carry this film on her shoulders, and she does a good job, and it's refreshing to see her downplay her looks, often looking like she wasn't wearing much make-up, in concurrence with her character's career as the head chef. Abigail Breslin is a scene-stealer in practically every one of her scenes, and Aaron Eckhardt is more than up to the task in his role as a fellow chef and potential romantic interest for Kate. It's not the most original of premises, but the performances and cast chemistry make it an easy film to digest. I left the theater very hungry for steak. I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-. __________________ PatCave; HT; DVDs; DragonCon 2009 According to DGibFen, I'm a "freaking genius." "Jee-sus, it's like Iwo Jima out there." - Roger Sterling Last edited by Patman; 07-29-07 at 01:13 AM.*

07-30-07, 10:12 AM	#3
DVD Josh DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: In My Own Little World Posts: 18,282	The final line of the trailer makes me laugh every time I hear it: CZJ - "I wish there was a cookbook for life" SRG - "Don't know its the recipes you make yourself that always taste the best?" __________________ Why the hell must you continually question my hyperbole? - Mordred If you hear hoofbeats, think Horse, not Zebra. - mdc3000 *DVDTALK GOLD TRADER*

08-05-07, 11:32 AM	#5
Trevor DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 12,917	Sorta liked this. I thought it was going to be more romantic comedy, but it had a lot of Spoiler: drama/tragedy as well. I went into the film expecting to laugh more, and not tear up. But it was enjoyable either way. Good date movie, solid performances from the leads. __________________ current exclusives & comparisons threads - Unwatched film thread - Spending - Challenge Compendium - DVD "upgrades" missing features from original release - DVDTalk Facebook - My Pathetic GamerTag/Score - 31 Day Subset - my horror list My Countdown Counting down to: The 5th Annual DVDTalk Horror Challenge The 5th Annual DVDTalk Horror Challenge is Live

08-06-07, 09:17 PM	#8
brizz DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: bacon Posts: 17,567	i was surprised to hear them say "rated PG" at the end of the ad i saw....seems like that rarely happens anymore. __________________ Remembering is always about some degree of forgetting - David W. Blight

07-29-07, 08:38 AM	#2
nateman DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: May 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada Posts: 4,245	Very nice review Patman I'm not a fan of romantic comedies at all & it's one of the "Which movie themes turns you off". I am however look foward to seeing this movie once it's released on DVD. I'm not a huge fan of Catherine Zeta-Jones either but like you said, she looks like she is wearing less make-up & downplaying her looks. I think Eckhart has been making some pretty good movies as of late & he always puts on a pretty decent performance. I don't always like child actors like Dakota Fanning but Abigail Breslin seems to have some actual true acting talent & it's nice that she hasn't appeared in ten billion movies in a span of a year like Fanning yet. Anyways enough of my rambling, I just wanted to say that I'm looking foward to this movie even through i'm not a fan of romantic comedies & does Gordon Ramsay make an appearance?

08-06-07, 02:22 PM	#7
starseed1981 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Woodridge, Illinois Posts: 3,732	I'll netflix this.