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BY MAGGIE SCOTT

A recommendation and overall enthusiasm must be reserved when it comes to “No Reservations,” the new romantic comedy from Scott Hicks.

While Catherine Zeta-Jones brings a serenity and warmth to her leading role as a “brilliant” executive chef at a successful New York restaurant there is also a certain numbness to the performance. A lot of the story goes beyond the clichéd role of a woman in a state of repressed or even stunted emotional growth, whose only intimate relationship in the last several years has been with her apartment’s fully-equipped kitchen.

Weekly appointments with her gently quizzical shrink (Bob Balaban) involve not just analysis of Kate’s hang ups but also generous helpings of her extended soliloquies about, or even preparation for him of, gourmet food.

This quickly establishes the fact that Kate’s work at 22 Bleecker (the name of the gastronomically renowned establishment) is her “life.”

Hollywood has been fixated on this kind of woman as fodder for tear jerkers or screwball comedies for about as many years as it’s been in business. “No Reservations” offers no profound update on the tradition.

Kate appears content if not demonstrably happy with her fast-paced, creative control career with little evidence of any other interest (in a city like New York, this seems unthinkable). Until the basic ingredients of her life get an unexpected sifting: Her sister dies in an auto accident, leaving behind an emotionally wounded daughter (Abigail Breslin) who has no other suitable take-charge relative. It seems than the bewildered Kate, who it is obvious, could make this off-the-menu order a recipe for disaster.

Authentically heart-tugging, Zoe struggles to make sense of her tragedy; needing to believe that this virtual stranger won’t ultimately abandon her. Kate struggles to show compassion and comfort the only way she knows how: by cooking.

Whether it’s from the duck or depression, Zoe refuses to eat and remains detached until Kate takes her to the restaurant. Zoe’s isn’t the only new face in the kitchen. While Kate was on family leave, the restaurant owner hired a temp; a cheeky chef from another top notch establishment. Nick (Aaron Eckhart) begins the formidable task of tenderizing Kate with praise for her famous saffron sauce and a bowl of spaghetti for Zoe.

At first, he’s a “lunatic;” later, he’s a trespasser on Kate’s territory who can’t be trusted. In between, he’s cooking the girls pizza and snuggling with them in a photo booth. The romantic concoction that is Kate and Nick goes from frozen to slow boil the more they understand how much they must trust love to satisfy the most profound hunger a human can experience.

This remake of the German hit, “Mostly Martha” is tasty if a bit underdone. As with her disarmingly sweet work in “Little Miss Sunshine”, Breslin’s performance here really takes the cake.

A Castle Rock Entertainment/Village Roadshow Pictures production, Warner Bros. Pictures release, rated PG for some sensuality and language.
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