No Reservations

It is one thing to believe that the CIA, with eyes and ears around the world, could fail to capture one of its own 8212; consistently. As one reviewer wrote, 8220;one would think Bourne is bin Laden8221;. It is another that men with as easy charm and good looks as Nick Eckhaart fall for uptight women saddled with children, and that while she has trouble communicating with that child, he knows instinctively what to do to win over the hearts of the two of them. That happens only in films 8212; consistently.

Even if you cross that first hurdle, the fact is that a film that calls itself No Reservations, with all its implied meanings, actually holds back every step of the way.

A nine-year-old girl called Zoe Breslin loses her mother in an accident and, except for the fact that she doesn8217;t eat what her aunt cooks including a whole fish with its eyes looking up at her, doesn8217;t show any outward emotion. Hicks is probably trying to pull off that adult-child quality that Breslin displayed quite nicely in Little Miss Sunshine but here she is only eyes, no looks.

A top chef whose life is her work, Kate a jaded Zeta-Jones, who is now looking after the child, swings back and forth in her treatment of Zoe for no apparent reason. And you never really understand the hint that Kate8217;s staff may not like her, or that she may have professional 8220;problems8221;.

A poor, nice neighbour again a man, with two children is always inexplicably there for Kate and leaves Thai food on her doorstep even after she makes it clear to him, rudely, that she isn8217;t interested. And then there is a pregnant assistant to Kate who is there just to have a baby at one crucial moment and perhaps jolt her into the whole idea of motherhood.

Into this mess jumps in Nick, the cook in not-so-shiny apron who sweeps everyone off their feet. And guess what? He never, ever, shaves or apparently runs a comb through his hair.

You are thankful for a few things 8212; that Kate and Zoe don8217;t start off fighting and clawing at each other as they would have in most films. For the rest, you may have seen it all before.

Curated For You

My brand is justice, not movies: Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa on becoming first lawyer to have personality rights protected

School jobs scam: ED attaches Rs 57.78 cr assets of TMC MLA, two others

Border 2 Movie Review LIVE Updates: Ajay Devgn sends best wishes for Sunny, Varun-starrer, film crosses Rs 9 crore in advance bookings