Released: July 27, 2007
Reviewed: July 29, 2007
Rated: B
Master chef Kate Armstrong (Catherine Zeta-Jones) seemingly has the recipe for success – she’s skilled, witty and practically runs Manhattan hotspot 22 Bleecker blindfolded. A self-professed control freak, Kate maintains her personal life much like her kitchen, without advice or interruption. Her perfectionism is put to the test when two people enter the picture, her nine-year-old niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin) and new sous chef Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart). Upon meeting the free-spirited Nick, Kate immediately despises him. A rising culinary star himself, Nick sings Pavarotti while working; Kate enjoys the sounds of sizzling stir-fry and itemized orders being called out. Nick loves to make everyone around him laugh; Kate sees everything as a distraction. His informal approach to everyday life and cuisine couldn’t be more polar to hers, yet the magnetism between them is like peanut butter and jelly. Desperate to bridge the grief-filled gap between Zoe and herself, Kate takes her niece somewhere she feels safe—the restaurant’s kitchen. Nick and Zoe build an instant bond with their similar taste in food and jokes. Kate can’t help but gush at the sight of her niece’s smile. Still, she can’t help but believe this is all a ploy by Nick to steal her kitchen either. Forced into overnight parenthood, Kate learns to be ready for the unexpected all the while learning that life is, in fact, a cookbook filled with her own recipes. Director Scott Hicks (Snow Falling on Cedars) does an excellent job with this order. From the screenwriting to the soundtrack, this film is well-balanced. Eckhart shows that he’s a chameleon on the screen. Zeta-Jones masters down-to-earth classic beauty over the stove. Breslin captures our hearts again, further proving there’s only one thing more satisfying than a good meal…. A good movie. –ZS
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