No Reservations

No Reservations

Modern day romantic comedies generally aren't my thing. Which is funny, because I love old school romantic comedies. But the best days of the genre, along with its best stars - Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Audrey Hepburn, Irene Dunne - are gone. Now, all romantic comedies are the same and follow the same well-worn path. What separates the good from the bad is always your team (obviously). If you get a good director, a decent writer and a fun cast with some chemistry - well, then the formula isn't a bad thing. The problem is, the best and brightest talents in Hollywood are rarely interested in this genre anymore.

So when I saw the pedigree for No Reservations, I actually thought it might be something. The director is Scott Hicks, the Australian auteur behind Shine. The cast includes actors who don't normally make these kinds of movies - when is the last time Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Patricia Clarkson were in a movie like this? Even the composer was unusual for this type of project- classical composer Philip Glass who ventures into movies rarely and when he does, it is for indie films or esoteric documentaries. Plus, No Reservations was based on a German comedy called Mostly Martha, which was supposed to be terrific. This all made me very curious.

Kate (Catherine Zeta Jones) is a uptight chef in an expensive restaurant owned by Paula (Patricia Clarkson). She is a brilliant chef, but a bit ornery, and she has a habit of insulting guests who don't like her food. In an effort to force Kate to deal with her temper, Paula forces her to go to therapy (the therapist is played by Bob Balaban). When her sister is killed in a car accident, Kate adopts her niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin) and is forced to change her strictly regimented life. To make life more stressful, Paula has hired a new sous chef for the restaurant, the free-wheeling, opera-singing, self-trained Nick (Aaron Eckhart). Kate and Nick are complete opposites and the tension begins almost immediately. And....I think we can all see where this is going.

Unfortunately, the esteemed cast and crew of No Reservations are unable to lift the film past its own blandness. Oh, the cast does its job. They are all pleasant and professional, if unremarkable. Zeta Jones and Eckhart go through the motions gamely enough, though they lack any sort of chemistry whatsoever. They are clearly falling in love because the script is telling them to. But they aren't really bad. They're just there. The best performance easily comes from little Abigail Breslin. It's a shame that her character is basically wasted - she is just a chess piece designed to bring Nick and Kate together. The most interesting story element is Zoe dealing with the traumatic death of her mother; more time should have been spent on this and less on the goofy verbal sparring between Kate and Nick.

The other creative partner that rises to the occasion is Philip Glass. What is he doing scoring this film? Did he lose a bet? It's so odd. That said, he rises to the occasion, writing an alternately bouncy and emotional score that somehow both adheres to genre rules while still keeping to his minimalistic cyclical style. Go him.

As for the rest of the movie, there is nothing really bad I can say about it. The problem is, there is nothing really good I can say about it, either. It is almost entirely forgettable. It's good to watch when you can't sleep one night and you happen to catch it. And don't worry if you start the film halfway in. You haven't missed anything because you've seen it all before.

MVP: I'm going with Breslin, who acts circles around her older, more established co-stars. She brings three-dimensions to her character. If the whole film had been about her dealing with the death of her mother, it could have been a winner. With her limited screen time, Breslin rises to the occasion and in the processes, rises her character out of mediocrity. When she is told about her mother's death, her reaction was gut-wrenching. It's one of the few times I felt any sort of emotion - good or bad- in the movie. Breslin's the real deal. I see Oscars in her future.

BEST LINE: Nick: "Get your hands off my tupperware."

TRIVIA: In a subtle bit of product placement, the characters all gush over an Australian wine from Yacca Paddock Wineries. These wineries are actually owned by Scott Hicks, the director. Clever.