THE STORY:
This story contains three main components. It gives us a love story without a particularly fresh or unusual approach and with a predictable outcome. The spark between the lovers just isn't there.

Another story within this story is that of a young girl who, due to the worst possible tragedy, must go to live with her aunt. I'll tell you how I feel about this in the CHARACTERS section below.

The third subplot involves a professional female chef, driven, egotistical, and totally defined by her work. It's her whole life. This story is believable until late in the story when her basic nature is suddenly transformed, without a good enough reason in my mind.

By the end I was asking myself what the purpose of making this movie was. It wasn't a very powerful love story. It didn't have a moral. It wasn't funny. What was the whole point?

THE CHARACTERS:
Catherine Zeta-Jones did as good a job as anyone could've done with the character she was given to play. She played Kate, the chef I described above. You could feel her intensity when she was at work. She was a very talented and creative, but very controlling and inflexible, professional. She was focused and didn't play around while in the kitchen. Kate has a problem with criticism and often stops short of a physical attack on anyone who disparages the quality of the food she prepares. Her quick temper finally causes her boss to require her to get therapy as a condition of continued employment. We see scenes of her in her therapy sessions where she talks of nothing but cooking and recipes. She's not objective enough about herself to snap out of the chef role long enough to realize that her personality has some quirks that need to be addressed. Kate winds up with the responsibility of raising her sister's daughter after the sister is killed suddenly. She makes it easy to see her pain and feel her concern about doing a good job with the child and melding that responsibility with her life. Her performance is very good, but the character takes one of those unexplained turnarounds that irritate me. During a leave of absence to deal with the death of her sister, the boss hires a new chef to help cover in the kitchen. Consistent with her character, at first she is very jealous of him and resents his playful manner and his very presence in her kitchen. Then, without enough of a reason that I can see, she's in love with him. There are a few scenes where he wins over Kate's niece in a way that Kate has been unable to, but I believe it would be more consistent with her character to resent him for that. Instead, she thanks him. After a few get-togethers (we can't really call them dates) arranged by or revolving around the niece, she begins to fall in love. I doubt it! After that, she becomes a bubbly, more relaxed, fun-loving, romantic kind of gal. I know love can transform, but this was a stretch for me.

Aaron Eckhart plays Nick, the new chef. He professes that the only reason he wants to work in her kitchen is so he can learn from her. He is a laid-back, warm, caring, kind of guy-next-door figure. His character is very well played but he doesn't really "match" with Kate. She is always dressed smartly. He is always dressed in denim. She seems polished and sophisticated and he doesn't (the son of a steel worker). I don't see the attraction and the story doesn't make me feel it.

Abigail Breslin plays the niece, Zoe. She deserves kudos for the best acting job in this movie--not just because she's a kid, but because she's good. When she first learns her mother has been killed, you feel her pain deeply and she plays what's given her otherwise very well, pining for her mother through most of the story but being able to focus elsewhere too. What bothered me was that in light of the fact that she had never had a father, her mother had just died, she was in a totally new environment, with unfamiliar gourmet food on her plate every mealtime, in a brand new school, spending her time either with babysitters (some weird) or alone, I believe she would be in tears constantly with behavioral and emotional pathology that would require intensive psychotherapy. This would be especially likely since she was an exceptionally bright kid who was the highlight of her mother's life. Her chemistry with Nick was more believable than Kate's chemistry with Nick.

Bob Balaban plays the therapist in this movie. His character is unremarkable in every way. I had the same feeling about his part in the movie that I would've had if Fred Astaire had been cast in a monster movie with no dancing scenes. Why was he cast in this role? It totally didn't deserve him and it didn't let him do what he is so good at--deadpan but hilarious character studies!

THE MOOD:
Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I go after uplifting movies. A movie doesn't have to make me giddy but I'd like it to be interesting and not depressing. This one dealt with mostly very heavy issues and I didn't think it was a story with a purpose.

THE HUMOR:
The trailers I saw lead me to believe this was a romantic comedy. The comedy just wasn't there for me. The closest to funny was Nick's often light-hearted presence. He was a gay figure when we first saw him in the kitchen, singing along with opera music and entertaining the rest of the staff with his demeanor. Some of his dialogue is kind of clever in an endearing way, but I don't remember laughing at anything.


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older