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Available at Amazon.com |
The heat of the kitchen meets the heat of the summer. That could have been an ad campaign for No Reservations last year, a film that could be best described as counter-programming in a summer full of boy wizards, robots in disguise, and Travolta in drag. Knowing that this is a remake of the German film Mostly Martha, of course reservations are to be had.
Catherine Zeta-Jones drops her Zorro rapier and picks up a cutlery knife as Kate, a workaholic master chef at some hoity toity New York restaurant. Single and overworked, cooking is her life. With all the pressures that come with running a kitchen there are times when she can’t help but belittle those customers that can’t appreciate the work she puts in to preparing dishes. To combat these problems she lays out on a couch, her therapist just a chair away.
Kate’s problems grow large when her sister dies in a car accident and she is left to care for her daughter Zoe (played by Little Miss Sunshine‘s Abigail Breslin). Breslin, always the scene-stealer, is somber in her role of a child who is still grieving after the loss of her mother. Her arrival thrusts Kate into unfamiliar territory: that of a parenting figure. Juggling parenting skills with culinary skills, Kate is a mess.
Her frustration mounts when returns to work only to find Nick (Aaron Eckhart), a sous chef, in her kitchen. Except for their love of cooking they are opposites. Each has a routine when it comes to food preparation; Nick is more charismatic, carefree in his approach, while Kate is restrained (albeit for her short temper). Kate can’t stand Nick and his Italian-cooking, opera-listening ways. She’s a tough cookie and doesn’t like someone of Nick’s stature infringing on her kitchen. But this battle of spatulas and cooking aprons – never mind the sexes – only helps to develop a relationship outside the kitchen and inside the household. Which is surprising, because the marketing would have us believe that No Reservations is strictly a romantic comedy.
Well, that assumption is extinguished quickly as there is very little romance and not nearly enough comedy that one associates with a rom-com. This isn’t 27 Dresses or a movie aimed solely at females; this is more like a family drama with a woman discovering that there is no cookbook for life. And actually, it is a refreshing zing to something that is altogether average.
Ever since Zeta-Jones starred alongside Tom Hanks in The Terminal as a weary-eyed flight attendant, she has been able to go from being just another pretty face to someone who has no trouble looking like a soccer mom who hasn’t had a moment’s rest in months. Aaron Eckhart with his chiseled grin and smirk is slowly breaking into leading-man status. His breakout was 2005’s Thank You for Smoking as tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor. In this picture, the delight he has cooking is infectious. The character of “Nick the sous chef” is not a stretch, but the way he handles himself around Zeta-Jones makes for nice banter. But it may be Abigail Breslin who has the last laugh. At the moment she seems like the go to tyke if the script calls for a little girl. She may not steal any scenes here like she did in Sunshine, but she makes the most of her presence.
No Reservations is somewhat of a departure for director Scott Hicks. A decade ago he garnered acclaim for helming the Academy Award-winning Shine. The fallout has been a pair of literary-to-screen adaptations (Snow Falling on Cedars and Hearts in Atlantis), neither of which found much of an audience. Hicks brings a chef’s hat to the set, giving direction to the actors, and adds some stylishness to the film. While I couldn’t smell Kate’s delectable Saffron Sauce, it’s hard not to notice the polished look and ambiance of the entire picture.
The look is its charm and the three leads do their best to make you forget about the predictable plot. It’s scattershot with its intentions. No Reservations goes from being a drama with Zeta-Jones coping with her career and raising her orphaned niece to becoming a romance between her and Eckhart. So it starts out dark and ends light, which seems to be a tried-and-true formula for Hollywood endings. Those who can’t stand saccharine entertainment should head for the nearest exit and make a run for it. Maybe grab a bite to eat, instead.
Despite the film’s polished look, the video transfer lacks that certain pop that one might expect. The 1080p/VC-1 transfer is not distinguishable from the standard DVD. Oh, there’s some resolution and the high definition colors a little more vibrant, images crisper; but most the details are hit-or-miss in terms of quality. As far as audio, the Blu-ray has a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, but more emphasis is placed on the dialogue. Even in a bustling kitchen one would expect the soundfield to liven up; the clanging of pots and pans, the cutting of poultry and vegetables, but no. In fact, there are no discernible differences between the Blu-ray and standard DVD releases.
The Blu-ray release of No Reservations includes the lone supplement that appears on the standard DVD – an episode of Food Network’s Unwrapped hosted by Marc “Double Dare” Summers. This episode, originally from July 2007, includes Zeta-Jones, Eckhart, and the chefs who were culinary consultants for the production. The whole 23-minute episode is just a “pastry” puff piece taking the viewer behind the scenes of the production.
Special to the Blu-ray, is an extra that hopes to “kick things up a notch”: an episode of Emeril Live. At a runtime of 42 minutes, this episode is mostly Lagasse cooking but he also interacts with guests Abigail Breslin and Aaron Eckhart. On this episode Emeril makes pizza, as well as some of the appetizing dishes as seen in No Reservations. Heavy on the self-promotion, this episode is still better than Unwrapped, but not by much.
No Reservations is not a bad film; it is maybe a little above average and is helped a lot by radiating charm, good performances and a nice look. Yet, it doesn’t have a clear idea what it wants to be – the story flips from having a bleak open to end with a schmaltzy romance. As far as the Blu-ray release, Warner Bros. doesn’t make the experience that much more enjoyable. The video transfer is soft and the audio track underwhelms. And the supplements are paltry, and probably as fulfilling as a dessert mint.
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Warner Bros. presents No Reservations. Directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin and Patricia Clarkson. Written by Carol Fuchs and Sandra Nettelbeck. Running time: 104 minutes. Rated PG (for sensuality and language). Released on DVD: February 12, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
About Travis Leamons
