Reviewed by Jo Wood
Stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart,
Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson, Jenny Wade,
Bob Balaban, Brian F O'Byrne
Written by Carol Fuchs & Sandra Nettelbeck
Certification UK PG| US PG-13
Runtime 105 minutes
Directed by Scott Hicks
This film is cheddar on toast with cream cheese on top, but it truly warms the cockles — if cockle-warming floats your boat. Our professional, hard-nosed heroine comes in the guise of Kate (Zeta Jones) who is an (at times unconvincing) top chef for a trendy New York restaurant. As Kate struggles to juggle work and her 11-year-old niece Zoe (Breslin), a predictable on-off romance kicks off with the arrival of new sous-chef Nick (Eckhart), who is opera-loving, warm-hearted and friendly.
Nick gains the friendship and respect of the other restaurant staff instantly, which at times sits none too well with struggling single aunt Kate. This is boy-meets-girl at its most basic — power crazed tough woman meets amenable cheeky chap who is in awe of her amazing cooking ability. Power crazed tough woman warms a bit, but then becomes jealous of amenable cheeky chap's ability and potential threat to her kitchen dominance. As expected in a film about a couple of chefs, the scenes are centered around food — or indeed "food porn" as a colleague corrected me. In fact, there's rarely a scene in which food isn't consumed, and 16 hours after watching the film, I still didn't feel like eating anything.
The plot is unchallenging, but does manage to deal sympathetically with issues such as grief, and professional, ambitious women in the modern world. Superb acting from Eckhart and Breslin, however, gives this film its sparkle. Breslin is utterly convincing, and her relationship with Zeta Jones is touchingly believable. Also, Kate's therapy sessions are wonderfully tongue-in-cheek and genuinely funny, as therapist (Balaban) battles his desire to be fed, in order to talk to Kate about her inevitably isolated existence.
As the first film of note that Scott Hicks has directed since multiple Oscar-nominated Shine more than a decade ago, his use of close camera angles emphasise the feeling of individual experience to good effect... as long as you are not sitting too close to the front. As predictable as it is corny, be prepared to sit through lines like, "I wish there was a recipe book for life, telling you exactly what to do," and scenes where stray tiramisu is seductively wiped from Zeta Jones’ mouth and consumed by her love interest. At times one feels one can confidently talk along with the script, but that, surely, is what this film was always going to be about - a feel-good movie with no real surprises. One that would, unfortunately, be enjoyed no less on DVD than in a theatre.