Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the intense perfectionist head chef of an upscale Manhattan restaurant. She has anger issues and the restaurant owner Paula (Patricia Clarkson) sends her to a therapist (Bob Balaban). She lives an intense lonely single life refusing to date her neighbor Sean. Her sister dies in a car crash. Her niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin) survives and is placed with her. Zoe's father is unknown. They both struggle. Paula hires new chef Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart) to pick up the slack which only angers Kate.

It's a remake of 'Mostly Martha'. This is a bit lighter in tone than the original. There are some minor changes but they kept Leah pregnant with short hair. I'm glad they lost Zoe's father in this version. It was a bit of a distraction in the original.

Breslin is a great child actor. She is the big improvement over the original. She and Zeta-Jones have a compelling story. The romance with Aaron Eckhart is a little lacking. He has limited chemistry with Zeta-Jones. They're also relying on a few too many montages. I would also prefer a lot more food porn in a cooking movie. Nevertheless, this is a nice story of coming together.

In Manhattan, the workaholic Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the chef of the 22 Bleecker Restaurant owned by Paula (Patricia Clarkson),who sent her to a therapist (Bob Balaban) because she has no other interest in life but cooking and controlling her kitchen. When her only sister dies in a car accident, Kate becomes the guardian of her niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin),who can not overcome the loss of her mother. Paula orders Kate to take a couple of days off to care of Zoe; when Kate returns to the work, she finds that Paula hired the sub-chef Nick (Aaron Eckhart) without her approval. Nick explains that he is honored of working with Kate, but the jealous Kate does not trust in him and believes he wants her position. When Zoe gets close to Nick and invites him to have dinner with Kate and her, she changes her feelings for Nick. But when his work is recognized by the clients of the restaurant, Kate believes she committed a mistake.

"No Reservations" is delightfully sweet, with a nice romance supported by the magnificent chemistry of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart; a good story; a wonderful soundtrack; and the visual of splendorous dishes. The beauty of Catherine Zeta-Jones is awesome, and I really loved her character and this entertaining feel-good movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Reservas" ("Without Reservations")

I heard a little about this film during its release, obviously about the leading actress starring, and that it involved cooking in a restaurant, so I thought it looked like one I should try, from director Simon Hicks (Shine). Basically in Manhattan, Kate Armstrong (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the workaholic master chef of the 22 Bleecker Restaurant owned by Paula (Patricia Clarkson) who has recommended her to a Therapist (Gosford Park's Bob Balaban) due to her cold, no-nonsense, bossy and pain in the neck behaviour. Things start to change for her when her only sister is killed in a car accident she becomes the guardian for her ten year old niece Zoe (Little Miss Sunchine's Abigail Breslin) who comes to live with her. As Kate struggles to take care of the grieving child, arriving in the restaurant is the new second/substitute chef Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart) who is a fan of Italian music and food, and was found because he is a fan of Kate's cooking. He explains he is honoured to work alongside her, but Kate is jealous and testy with the new arrangement, she is sure he wants to take over her role in the kitchen, and he seems to be a bit more appreciated to her. Of course she slowly realises the kitchen would not be the same without his presence and cooking skills, and when Zoe is invited to the restaurant he seems to be bringing her out of her grief stricken shell. Eventually it comes to the point when Kate and Nick are co-operating, so much so that they go out together and fall in love, and in the end, after the usual argument, bad point and fall out, things comes together in the end, and all rightful names become the name for the restaurant. Also starring Jenny Wade as Leah, Brían F. O'Byrne as Sean, Lily Rabe as Bernadette and Zoë Kravitz, Lenny's daughter as Charlotte. Zeta-Jones does well as the leading character who is a little bitchy for a while but lightens up as time goes by, Eckhart is likable, and Breslin is cute and reasonably lovable, it is a slightly predictable and cheesy story in parts, and I didn't think we saw enough delicious food preparation, but overall it is a nice romantic comedy drama. Worth watching!