No ReservationsMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 50 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The romance, which commences rather gradually, is tender, but not graphic. Humor is interspersed throughout, but there also is sadness, handled seriously. Actually, it is as much a family saga as it is a romantic comedy. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Agreeably prepared and attractively presented, this remake of the tasty 2001 German feature "Mostly Martha" bears too many earmarks of Hollywood packaging and emotional button-pushing, but doesn't go far wrong by closely sticking to the original's smart story construction. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times |

    The emotional details of Kate, Nick and Zoe's journey are surprising, honest and life-size, and the film's determination to present their predicament sympathetically, without appealing to retrograde ideals of femininity and motherhood, makes it notable, and in some ways unique. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    It's fun to see the glamorous actress turn down her movie-star flame, but it's a pity she's stuck with so many trite gestures on Kate's journey to fulfillment. Read full review

  • 50
    Wall Street Journal |

    It's plain old lousy timing, this chronicle of a dedicated, exacting chef being released in the wake of the kitchen-centered "Ratatouille" and "Waitress." Alongside those two charmers, which beautifully demonstrate the transformative powers of food and love, No Reservations is strictly cordon blah. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    The film feels miscast. Neither Zeta-Jones nor Eckhart look the least bit comfortable in a restaurant kitchen. More troubling, they look downright uncomfortable with each other. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post |

    There's already a crazy behind-the-scenes restaurant movie out this summer, and it's got a better story, and it's a cartoon, and it stars a rat. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The movie is focused on two kinds of chemistry: of the kitchen, and of the heart. The kitchen works better. Read full review

  • 40
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    The movie feels stubbornly, resolutely disingenuous and one-dimensional. Everything in it isdesigned to make you feel better, so why does it feel artificial and palliative in that really depressing way? Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    It takes a winning recipe and adds some distinctly Hollywood flavors...The result is a botched job. Read full review

View more reviews for No Reservations on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Bland-but-sweet dramedy more for adult palates.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this romantic comedy has some serious themes, like the death of a single parent and an aunt who must care for her orphaned niece. Although it's rated PG and stars popular child actress Abigail Breslin, the film's protagonist, an emotionally withdrawn chef who doesn't have any healthy relationships, is not going to seem compelling to most kids. The dramedy also perpetuates the idea that ambitious, professionally successful women all have lonely personal lives. Still, at its heart, this is the typical odd-couple romantic movie with a little girl thrown in to stir the pot.
  • Families can talk about the difference between personal and professional success. How was Kate successful in one way but not the other? What did her kitchen employees think of her, and how did they react to Nick's work style? What did Zoe and Kate learn from each other?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: Kate learns that having personal connections is even more important than her thriving career.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: No violence, but there's a disturbing scene of a bruised Zoe on a hospital bed.
  • sex false0 Sex: Kate and Nick kiss passionately, and he spends the night, but there's no actual love scene. Paula flirts with Nick; Bernadette mentions a customer who keeps staring at her breasts and later thanks Nick for suggesting she listen to Pavarotti during sex.
  • language false3 Language: Just the out-of-place words "asshole" and "tits."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Croc clogs, the board game Operation
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Diners drink wine at the restaurant and the waiters discuss wine selections at their staff meetings. Kate gets tipsy after a wine-filled dinner with Nick.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

3.5

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

… actually pretty serious and somber … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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