Le goût de la vie

(My Synopsis) Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the master chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan. She runs her kitchen at a rapid pace as she coordinates the making and preparing of all the fantastic meals and personally displays the food to perfection on every dish. She intimidates everyone around her, so her boss sends her to therapy. Kate hates to leave the kitchen when a customer wants to compliment her on one of her special dishes, but she is ready to leave the kitchen in a second when a customer insults her cooking. Kate's sister is killed in a car accident and her nine-year old daughter Zoe (Abigail Breslin) moves in with Kate. With all of Kate's problems, the boss hires a new chef to join the staff. Nick (Aaron Eckhart) is a rising star in his own right and could be the head chef of another restaurant, but he wants to work under Kate. Kate begins to feel threatened by Nick, because he has a different style of running the kitchen. Nick loves to listen to opera when he cooks and to make the staff laugh. With all that is going on in Kate's life, falling for a man is the last thing she was looking for. There is some kind of chemistry between Kate and Nick that can only go one way. Yet life will hit her in the head when Kate's boss offers Nick the head chef job.

(My Comment) You know before going in that this is a chick flick. If anything, I wanted to see Catherine Zeta-Jones do her thing. The movie actually touches on a hard subject of what can happen in life when someone you love dies. Kate had her own life and now she is responsible for her niece Zoe. Being responsible for a child will change your life dramatically, and Kate discovers that very soon. What used to be important to Kate is not so important, and she must work very hard to build a relationship with Zoe. Yes, this is a chick flick, but it also touches real life to. I think the real star of the movie was Abigail Breslin. Abigail was able to pull off her part and make you believe that her mother had actually died. Most of the movie is light hearted and fun to watch and is very predictable. (Warner Bros. Pictures, Run time 1:44, Rated PG)(6/10)

In Manhattan, the workaholic Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the chef of the 22 Bleecker Restaurant owned by Paula (Patricia Clarkson), who sent her to a therapist (Bob Balaban) because she has no other interest in life but cooking and controlling her kitchen. When her only sister dies in a car accident, Kate becomes the guardian of her niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin), who can not overcome the loss of her mother. Paula orders Kate to take a couple of days off to care of Zoe; when Kate returns to the work, she finds that Paula hired the sub-chef Nick (Aaron Eckhart) without her approval. Nick explains that he is honored of working with Kate, but the jealous Kate does not trust in him and believes he wants her position. When Zoe gets close to Nick and invites him to have dinner with Kate and her, she changes her feelings for Nick. But when his work is recognized by the clients of the restaurant, Kate believes she committed a mistake.

"No Reservations" is delightfully sweet, with a nice romance supported by the magnificent chemistry of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart; a good story; a wonderful soundtrack; and the visual of splendorous dishes. The beauty of Catherine Zeta-Jones is awesome, and I really loved her character and this entertaining feel-good movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Reservas" ("Without Reservations")

"No Reservations" is a sweet movie about love and cooking. It's about Kate, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is a very good chef and likes things her way in the kitchen. Then Nick, played by Aaron Eckhart, comes along. He's fun and likes to cook differently. They start to like each other.

Things change for Kate when she has to take care of her niece, Zoe. Kate's life gets a bit messy, like her neat kitchen, as she figures out how to be like a mom to Zoe and deal with her feelings for Nick.

The movie shows lots of yummy food and has pretty pictures of the kitchen and the food. Kate and Nick look good together, and Zoe is very cute. The movie feels like other love stories but has its own special taste because of the actors and the nice food.

In the end, "No Reservations" is like a good meal that makes you happy. It tells us that sometimes good things happen when we don't plan for them, and waiting for love is like waiting for a good meal to cook. Enjoy the movie!

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the intense perfectionist head chef of an upscale Manhattan restaurant. She has anger issues and the restaurant owner Paula (Patricia Clarkson) sends her to a therapist (Bob Balaban). She lives an intense lonely single life refusing to date her neighbor Sean. Her sister dies in a car crash. Her niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin) survives and is placed with her. Zoe's father is unknown. They both struggle. Paula hires new chef Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart) to pick up the slack which only angers Kate.

It's a remake of 'Mostly Martha'. This is a bit lighter in tone than the original. There are some minor changes but they kept Leah pregnant with short hair. I'm glad they lost Zoe's father in this version. It was a bit of a distraction in the original.

Breslin is a great child actor. She is the big improvement over the original. She and Zeta-Jones have a compelling story. The romance with Aaron Eckhart is a little lacking. He has limited chemistry with Zeta-Jones. They're also relying on a few too many montages. I would also prefer a lot more food porn in a cooking movie. Nevertheless, this is a nice story of coming together.

Very likable even for a formula romcom, mainly because of the terrific casting and performances of the actors.

The forever beautiful and talented Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago, The Mask of Zorro) is spot on as Kate, a workaholic chef at hoity toity 22 Bleeker. Kate unexpectedly inherits her niece Zoe, played tremendously well by Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). Real-life motherhood must have enabled Zeta-Jones to show her softer side with the restraint her character called for.

Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking, Black Dahlia) is Nick, the Italian-trained, opera-singing, charismatic new chef who invades Kate's precision-perfect French kitchen. Nick is Kate's quintessential opposite and eventually helps her sort out her trust issues and even enhances her parenting skills.

It is refreshing to see CZJ back on the silver screen where she belongs, and playing a non-glamorous character for once, even sans makeup in some scenes. At 38 years old, that is a brave feat indeed (and this courage is consistent with all the flawed characters she likes to play).

Her on screen chemistry with Eckhart is positively sizzling, and his cockiness to her coolness effectively makes you forget about the trite plot. While Zeta-Jones has also been criticized for being too beautiful for the role of a lonely chef, that is actually one of the ironies of life that this movie uncovers: beauty and talent doesn't really guarantee bliss.

Despite the awful MTV-like montage of the trio grocery shopping and the rest of the unspectacular elements, overall, the movie makes you feel for the characters. You leave the cinema all warm and fuzzy, and that makes the execution of No Reservations a success.