No Reservations (2007)

The life of a top chef changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece.

Director:

Scott Hicks

Writers:

Carol Fuchs (screenplay), Sandra Nettelbeck (screenplay)

Stars:

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Kate
Aaron Eckhart	...	Nick
Abigail Breslin	...	Zoe
Patricia Clarkson	...	Paula
Jenny Wade	...	Leah
Bob Balaban	...	Therapist
Brían F. O'Byrne	...	Sean
Lily Rabe	...	Bernadette
Eric Silver	...	John
Arija Bareikis	...	Christine
John McMartin	...	Mr. Peterson
Celia Weston	...	Mrs. Peterson
Zoë Kravitz	...	Charlotte
Matthew Rauch	...	Ken
Dearbhla Molloy	...	Anna

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | chef | kitchen | guardian | cooking | 

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Taglines:

Life isn't always made to order.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some sensuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [fr] Warner Bros [us]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 July 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mostly Martha

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£513,063 (UK) (31 August 2007)

Gross:

$43,097,652 (USA) (2 November 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Storefront Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When he's in the kitchen, Aaron Eckhart's character wears orange clogs, the trademark of Chef Mario Batalli of Iron Chef and The Chew fame.

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Goofs

When Kate comes into the restaurant after her sister's death and finds Nick there, he is singing. You can see a kitchen cloth in Leah's left hand behind her back. In the next shot where he sings to her baby you see her right hand holding her stomach with the kitchen cloth. However, in the next shot she is holding the kitchen cloth in her left hand again.

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Quotes

Kate: [about Nick] You bring in a sous chef from an Italian restaurant and I'm the one in therapy?

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Connections

Features Operation: Rabbit (1952)

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Soundtracks

"Truffles and Quail"
Composed by Conrad Pope
Conducted by Conrad Pope

User Reviews

No Reservations About "No Reservations"

"No Reservations" is not a great film, nor does it pretend to be. It is very predictable and follows the formula used in countless other movies. Despite that, it give you everything you want from this type of film and is better than many of the sequels that have come out this year.

Catherine Zeta Jones is as beautiful as ever. There is a nice dose of Verdi and Puccini opera arias, and Abigail Breslin steals the film like she did with "Little Miss Sunshine." I have not liked Aaron Eckert in the past, but in this film he brings happiness to the otherwise dour Zeta Jones.

Some of the professional critics said they like the original German film "Mostly Martha" better, but I thought that "No reservations" improved on the original in every possible way. The only valid criticism I could find was that Catherine Zeta Jones is too beautiful to be believable as a lonely chef. That is a flaw I can live with.

If you are looking for a break from the so-called Summer "action" films, "No Reservations" is not very original, but it certainly fits the bill. The only drawback is that you will definitely leave the theater feeling really hungry for good food.