...there's not much sparkle in the movie and even less spark to the love story.
Zeta-Jones and Eckhart do what they can with their characters, which isn't much. Worse, they don't seem to show the audience any attraction for one another. Abigail Breslin, of "Little Miss Sunshine" fame, does her part by at least not being too precious or cutesy, but her character is something of a pill, even if she did just lose her mother. Bob Balaban plays the usual unshakable, half-exasperated, half-snobbish character that threatens to typecast him forever. And the film mostly wastes the talents of Patricia Clarkson on a role that provides her with virtually nothing to do.
There are few laughs or smiles in "No Reservations" and little joy. In other words, there's not much sparkle in the movie and even less spark to the love story. If you're looking for chemistry here, you're in the wrong room. This is more like gym class with two opponents battling one another most of the time. In the movie's second half, food and little Miss Breslin come to the rescue, but by this time it's almost too late for the audience to notice.
"No Reservations" is not an entirely awful movie; it's just a dull one that can't make up its mind if it wants to be a romantic comedy, an outright comedy, a warmhearted romance, a drama, a melodrama, or some kind of slice of life. If it doesn't know what it is, how does it expect its audience to know? Or care?
Video:
In a change of pace for Warner Bros., they present the film in two aspect ratios, the original 2.40:1 widescreen seen in theaters and a full-screen pan-and-scan that omits nearly half the image to the left and right of each frame. Since they offer both of these formats on the same side of the DVD, you can guess that something had to suffer, and it appears to have been the bit rate. Although WB have been using a high bit rate on most of their releases for the past few years, they obviously didn't have space for anything more than an average bit rate this time out. The results show up in the transfer's slightly fuzzy definition, compensated for by fairly bright, natural colors (except in some facial tones, which come up a bit too dark). The anamorphic transfer is free of dirt or artifacts, with only a light, modest print grain in evidence. I have no complaints about the video quality, actually, although the picture never jumps off the screen or impresses one in any particular way.
Audio:
There is hardly anything to say good or bad about the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio reproduction because there is hardly anything the film calls upon it to do. It's quiet. The film is mainly dialogue, with a little background music, mostly classical but never too prominent. There is the barest touch of musical ambience enhancement in the rear channels. Otherwise, the sound is clean and well balanced, but, like the movie, innocuous.
Extras:
The only bonus item of consequence is a twenty-minute episode of the Food Network's "Unwrapped," with host Marc Summers interviewing the stars of "No Reservations" and the real chefs who created the movie's meals. Other than that, there are a few WB trailers at start-up only;
twenty-four scene selections but no chapter insert; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Shots:
The major saving graces in "No Reservations" are the occasional Puccini, Verdi, and Flotow musical excerpts that play in the background and the movie's overall sincerity. Its weaknesses are its blandness and its indecisive tone. On balance, no one wins or loses, making "No Reservations" at best a fairly ordinary entry in the romantic or romantic-comedy or seriocomic movie genres, take your choice. Personally, I didn't find it romantic, I didn't find it funny, and I didn't find it dramatic, so my rating for its film value suffers accordingly.
There are few laughs or smiles in "No Reservations" and little joy. In other words, there's not much sparkle in the movie and even less spark to the love story. If you're looking for chemistry here, you're in the wrong room. This is more like gym class with two opponents battling one another most of the time. In the movie's second half, food and little Miss Breslin come to the rescue, but by this time it's almost too late for the audience to notice.
"No Reservations" is not an entirely awful movie; it's just a dull one that can't make up its mind if it wants to be a romantic comedy, an outright comedy, a warmhearted romance, a drama, a melodrama, or some kind of slice of life. If it doesn't know what it is, how does it expect its audience to know? Or care?
Video:
In a change of pace for Warner Bros., they present the film in two aspect ratios, the original 2.40:1 widescreen seen in theaters and a full-screen pan-and-scan that omits nearly half the image to the left and right of each frame. Since they offer both of these formats on the same side of the DVD, you can guess that something had to suffer, and it appears to have been the bit rate. Although WB have been using a high bit rate on most of their releases for the past few years, they obviously didn't have space for anything more than an average bit rate this time out. The results show up in the transfer's slightly fuzzy definition, compensated for by fairly bright, natural colors (except in some facial tones, which come up a bit too dark). The anamorphic transfer is free of dirt or artifacts, with only a light, modest print grain in evidence. I have no complaints about the video quality, actually, although the picture never jumps off the screen or impresses one in any particular way.
Audio:
There is hardly anything to say good or bad about the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio reproduction because there is hardly anything the film calls upon it to do. It's quiet. The film is mainly dialogue, with a little background music, mostly classical but never too prominent. There is the barest touch of musical ambience enhancement in the rear channels. Otherwise, the sound is clean and well balanced, but, like the movie, innocuous.
Extras:
The only bonus item of consequence is a twenty-minute episode of the Food Network's "Unwrapped," with host Marc Summers interviewing the stars of "No Reservations" and the real chefs who created the movie's meals. Other than that, there are a few WB trailers at start-up only;
twenty-four scene selections but no chapter insert; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Shots:
The major saving graces in "No Reservations" are the occasional Puccini, Verdi, and Flotow musical excerpts that play in the background and the movie's overall sincerity. Its weaknesses are its blandness and its indecisive tone. On balance, no one wins or loses, making "No Reservations" at best a fairly ordinary entry in the romantic or romantic-comedy or seriocomic movie genres, take your choice. Personally, I didn't find it romantic, I didn't find it funny, and I didn't find it dramatic, so my rating for its film value suffers accordingly.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]22581[/release]