No reservations, 2007

No reservations, 2007
Director: Scott Hicks
Cast: Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin



Stage: Home theatre

No reservations in short: A master chef, Kate, lives her life like she runs the kitchen at upscale 22 Bleecker Restaurant in Manhattan--with a no-nonsense intensity that both captivates and intimidates everyone around her. With breathtaking precision, she powers through each hectic shift, coordinating hundreds of meals, preparing delicate sauces, seasoning and simmering each dish to absolute perfection.

Preps: Mmmm, none in perticular. Zeta as chef? Need to see this urgently. Always wanted to be one. Chef, that is.


Reality: Hm. The world of chef is a tuff one. I wanted to (and I still do) have a restaurant. I have always wanted to have one. Always drull with movies where they cook. One of my best ones is Julie and Julia. Or see maybe also The soul kitchen. Superb. Anyhow, wherever parsley is being cut and beef or chicken is put on stew or on butter, here I am. I am bought.

In this case, a cute romantic rival story between two chefs, mixed alltogether within a family drama. Taking care of a small child or being a chef? A hard decision. Meeting your spouse inbetween? well, would love to see this turn out happily. Because you need to decide at some point what to do. OK, if you are a high flyer and are in the middle of the lauch of your career, and you get a new kid - that's a problem. Or a challenge, put it as you want it. The kid hates your guts, you are in the middle of mourning for your relative and his kid doesn't want you to play the mother. This is the world of Zeta Jones right when she believes she's on the breakthrough of her career. A good plot story and an interesting follow through in what is she going to do.

Spiced with exotic cooking, filled with taste and lust. For a soul that likes to cook the way I do, a beautiful piece to see. Nothing in perticular amazing about the cast, the scenery, dialogues. But I enjoyed the romantic dwelling in the kitchen and it definitely made me hungry. A piece I will love to see again, although I don't find it any more than average.


My personal rating: 5,0 (Zeta goes into this macho feminine chef pose I adore. And she cooks in the totally male world, and owns him. On the other side, it's pretty clear. A good career or a strong family. Never both at the same time.
No reservations on IMDB