No Reservations (film)
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 Original poster |
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| Directed by | Scott Hicks |
| Produced by | Kerry Heysen Sergio Aguero |
| Written by | Carol Fuchs Sandra Nettelbeck |
| Starring | Catherine Zeta-Jones Aaron Eckhart Abigail Breslin Patricia Clarkson |
| Music by | Philip Glass |
| Cinematography | Stuart Dryburgh |
| Editing by | Pip Karmel |
| Studio | Castle Rock Entertainment Village Roadshow Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | July 27, 2007 |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $28 million |
| Box office | $92,601,050[1] |
No Reservations is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin, the screenplay by Carol Fuchs is an adaptation of an original script by Sandra Nettelbeck, which served as the basis for the 2001 German film Mostly Martha, and revolves around a hard-edged chef whose life is turned upside down when she decides to take in her young niece following a tragic accident that killed her sister. Patricia Clarkson, Bob Balaban and Jenny Wade co-star, with Brían F. O'Byrne, Lily Rabe, and Zoe Kravitz—appearing in her first feature film—playing supporting roles.
The film received a mixed reception by critics, who found it “predictable and too melancholy for the genre”, resulting into an 41% overall approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Upon its opening release on July 27, 2007 in the United States and Canada, No Reservations became a moderate commercial success: The film grossed $12 million in its opening weekend, eventually grossing over $43 million at the domestic box-office and over $92 million worldwide. Breslin was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.
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[edit] Plot
Kate Armstrong (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the master chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan, New York. 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 Paula (Patricia Clarkson) 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.
When Kate's sister is killed in a car accident, her nine-year old daughter Zoe (Abigail Breslin) moves in with Kate. With all of Kate's problems, Paula hires a new chef to join the staff: Nick Palmer (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.
[edit] Cast
- Catherine Zeta-Jones as Kate Armstrong
- Aaron Eckhart as Nicholas "Nick" Palmer
- Abigail Breslin as Zoe
- Patricia Clarkson as Paula
- Jenny Wade as Leah
- Bob Balaban as Therapist
- Brían F. O'Byrne as Sean
- Lily Rabe as Bernadette
- Arija Bareikis as Christine
- John McMartin as Mr. Peterson
- Celia Weston as Mrs. Peterson
- Zoë Kravitz as Charlotte
- Dearbhla Molloy as Anna
- Matt Servitto as Doctor
- Fulvio Cecere as Bob
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical reception
- Rotten Tomatoes, an aggregate of reviews from published critics, showed only 35% reviewed it favorably.[2]
- Matt Zoller Seitz of The New York Times said, "What's unexpected and gratifying ... is the film's enlightened attitude toward parenthood and work, which the movie's publicity campaign conspicuously glosses over, even though it’s the story's driving force ... Make no mistake: No Reservations is a factory-sealed romantic comedy ... But the emotional details of Kate, Nick and Zoe’s journey are surprising, honest and life-size, and the film’s determination to present their predicament sympathetically, without appealing to retrograde ideals of femininity and motherhood, makes it notable, and in some ways unique."[3]
- Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "The movie is focused on two kinds of chemistry: of the kitchen, and of the heart. The kitchen works better, with shots of luscious-looking food, arranged like organic still lifes. But chemistry among Nick, Kate and Zoe is curiously lacking, except when we sense some fondness—not really love—between Zoe and her potential new dad ... the characters seem to feel more passion for food than for each other."[4]
- Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times called the film "one of those movies that presents life precisely and meticulously as it isn't, presumably as some kind of consolation for how it really is" and added, "With its simplistic compartmentalization of dueling personality types, kindergarten view of grown-up love, exquisite styling, overripe camera moves and lousy, overwrought score, the movie feels stubbornly, resolutely disingenuous and one-dimensional. Everything in it is designed to make you feel better, so why does it feel artificial and palliative in that really depressing way?"[5]
- Todd McCarthy of Variety observed, "Agreeably prepared and attractively presented, this remake of the tasty 2001 German feature Mostly Martha bears too many earmarks of Hollywood packaging and emotional button-pushing, but doesn't go far wrong by closely sticking to the original's smart story construction ... Scott Hicks' work cuts both ways, creating a warm cocoon that fosters engagement with the well-drawn characters while at the same time steering the material in softer-than-necessary directions and refraining from peeking any deeper into the main characters to suggest what makes them tick. Without question, Ratatouille deals more profoundly with the personality makeup and urges of a driven chef-as-artist than does this genial divertissement."[6]
[edit] Box office
No Reservations was released in 2,425 theaters in the US on July 27, 2007 and earned $11,704,357 and ranked fifth on its opening weekend. The film eventually grossed $43,107,979 in the US and $49,493,071 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $92,601,050.[7]
[edit] Awards and nominations
Abigail Breslin was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actress for her performance as Zöe.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- No Reservations
- No Reservations at the Internet Movie Database
- No Reservations at AllRovi
- No Reservations at Rotten Tomatoes
- No Reservations at Metacritic
- No Reservations at Box Office Mojo
- No Reservations at Yahoo! Movies
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