No Reservations (2007)

On the cover this is a romantic comedy right? Although I don't reject that classification outright, there is a dramatic and depressing streak in this movie. That is not to say I didn't like it, or that it wasn't funny.

Zeta-Jones plays Kate Armstrong, a master chef in a prominent New York City restaurant, who, within the first 15 mins of the show, loses a sister in a car accident. Her niece is sent to live with her, and throughout the movie the two struggle to adjust to one another – Zeta-Jones as the New York affluent sophisticate with a sought after career, and her niece Zoe (played by Abigail Brenlin, of Little Miss Sunshine fame) who is struggling to cope with the loss of her mother. So that is the depressing undertone of the movie. The light hearted Nick Palmer (played by Aaron Eckhart), joins Kate's restaurant as the sous-chef at the behest of its owner, to the chagrin of Kate, who rules her kitchen with an iron fist. Of course, you probably guessed they end up together.

There is some good comedy here – especially when the customers of the restaurant send food back to the kitchen, and the brooding Kate has some choice words and deeds to express her displeasure, despite the fact that they are paying customers (See the embedded trailer for a good example). The interplay between Eckhart and Zeta-Jones is better than I thought it would be. I guess what I am saying here is that this is a surprising recommend from me – I am not usually a huge fan of romantic comedies, but this one was quite well done.

By the way, I know nothing about the restaurant business (other than my mandate to tip generously regardless of the service – at the behest of my wife, who is a former waitress). But after having seen this movie and Ratatouille I feel rather enlightened :). It sure seems to confirm the hypothesis that movies come out in twos (Think Braveheart vs. Rob Roy, Tombstone vs. Wyatt Earp, and The Illusionist vs. The Prestige).