This weekend my BFF Netflix delivered me a precious little treat: No Reservations.
No Reservations stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as an executive chef at an upscale restaurant who has built her entire life around creating spectacular food. She's mean to her staff, she yells at customers who send back their food, the restaurant has required her to go to weekly therapy sessions and she is perfectly content to lose herself in cooking (she takes solace in the walk-in freezer of her restaurant).
Her sister plans to come visit and on route gets in a terrible and fatal accident, leaving her sister Kate (the chef) to care for her daughter Zoe (Zoe is played by Abigail Breslin of Little Miss Sunshine fame).
The plot borrows heavily from Kate Hudson's movie Raising Helen, but instead of being rescued by John Corbett (Aidan from Sex and the City) she is brought back to life by Aaron Ekhart who in this film is sporting a shaggy mop top and a love for classical music. Ekhart is best known for his two darker roles in Thank You for Smoking and The Dark Knight (he shocks as the gruesome Two-face).
The film soars thanks to Zeta-Jones and Ekhart's chemistry.
There is a fantastic closing scene that takes place at NYC's very adorable Little Owl restaurant that had me wanting to go there in person!
The DVD also has special features, including an episode of the Food Network's show Unwrapped that does an entire episode of behind the scenes footage and interviews.
The next time you want a quiet night in, cook yourself up some dinner, pour a glass of wine and pop in No Reservations. No reservation needed.
