Simplemente irresistible

Is this movie a masterpiece? No. But it is charming for what it is, and it's a regular rewatch for me. I'm a sucker for magical realism, movies about food, and 90s nostalgia, so this checks a lot of boxes for me. The supporting characters alone are worth watching for, especially Patricia Clarkson!

It's a light, feel-good 90s rom com with magical food. Don't expect anything too deep, and try to ignore Sean Patrick Flanery's utterly mediocre and boring character (who hates the idea of food that is both delicious AND magical? Come on). He is really the only thing I hate about this movie and he doesn't deserve SMG's character at all, but I honestly love it otherwise. Imo it's worth watching!

This film represents nothing truly exceptional. It has no exceptional acting, messages, faces (maybe Sarah M Gellar, but looks aren't everything), or lines. I didn't spend $7.50 on it to see it in the theater, nor will spend $3.00 at the rental store to see this. But why is it that when I see it on TV (I got cable) 9 out of 10 times I stop to watch it? Maybe because this movie speaks to the little romantic in all of us. We know or will learn that relationships don't make Emeril dishes appear at will or having odd gases spew from deserts but it's still a cute flick with two of the romance and a happy ending.

This is a very sweet little movie. The "magic" business in it is there to give it a little edge, and I think that they wisely don't explain it, but the movie works best when they underplay it. It's at its best around the "shopping for plates" sequence when the characters discuss how often men think about sex. It's handled with a light touch that is just right. That is the tone that I would have liked to see the movie maintain, and which they hit now and again during the course of it, but also missed from time to time.

It's not a sure thing (it's no "Moonstruck", for example), but if you like romantic comedy it's worth a look. I'd give it a 7/10 (slightly less than 3 stars, but close).

While a thousand monkeys on a thousand typewriters might never write a play like Shakespeare, any ten of them could have cranked out the lines for this one. It is at best a romantic comedy for the Barbie and Ken doll set, with a script so trite and corny as to be unintentionally amusing. Gellar is suitably appealing in her role as Amanda, a likeable and intelligent young woman, but it is "she" who becomes bewitched by a character with no more depth than a paper cutout, having to his credit only lots of money and conventional good looks. Then the plot revolves around her obsession with catching him, when it is painfully obvious that he isn't worth running after.

The title implies that it is "she" who is irresistible, except that she is always chasing after him. In other words, if she is so irresistible, why would she need "magic" to catch such a dolt? Her character is a hundred times more interesting than his, bothering to be concerned about others and such, while he is too in love with "himself" to care about anyone else. The deepest thought he can contemplate is the perfect paper plane! If there is a prince to this farce of a fairy tale, it might come closer to her buddy the cook, who is at least a fairly good friend. But this is a shallow and embarrassing story, tediously boring, with no better message but that money and glamour are more worth having than imagination and character.

I am appalled that some if you nit pickers are so jaded that you cannot see the charm in this amusing tale. Sure this is not a huge epic, but since when does each movie have to be a spectacular? It was a nice story, tastefully (pun intended) done. Hollywood needs more nice, clean movies like this, devoid of sex and blood. So it didn't break box office records; who cares, it still made money. That makes it a successful film. So lighten up, ye cynics.

One thing that I liked about the film, which several other commetators criticized, is that they DID NOT explain the magic. The characters were aware of it's presence but unable to explain it either. This thing just happened to her and she took advantage of it, not knowing how permanent the gift was and afraid of losing it.

One thing nobody seems to have mentioned is that Gellar's concoctions imparted the EMOTIONS she was feeling when she cooked them. Hence, when she is tearful, the diners are tearful. (Something that the pizza and beer crowd miss is that world-class cuisine can indeed be an emotional experience.)

I would have liked to see a bit more closure. What happens next? Does the gift continue? What role does the crab play? Who was that masked man..err, the guy at the beginning. He could have had some bit at the end that tidied up these loose story elements.

Above all, I want to say that this movie made me incredibly HUNGRY!