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Show Movies Thursday, July 26, 2007 Flat as fallen souffle 'No Reservations' is thoroughly undercooked and lacks spice Aaron Zundel REDUX WRITER When rolling "No Reservations" around on the palette, one will immediately notice its distinct lack of zest. Fluffy and light, there is a slight hint of sweetness as the film goes down, but this is overwhelmed by the massive amount of tasteless, airy nothingness coating every mouthful. The available flavors are vanilla, vanilla and imitation vanilla. The setup is simple: In "No Reservations," Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Kate Armstrong— an uneven, slightly acidic Manhattan chef whose only problems in life seem to be caused by herself. A merciless egotist, Kate spends her entire life cooking gourmet food, talking to- her shrink or fuming in her restaurant's walk-in refrigerator. Yet, despite all her neuroses, Kate's soft smiles, respect for her co-workers and witty banter let us know there's a whole human being inside just screaming to eat her way out. Enter Nick Palmer (Aaron Eckhart), the ultimate fantasy of teenage girls everywhere—manly enough to drive a 4x4, but sensitive enough to sing opera and cook the most heart-warming Italian food. Nick is the absolute kindest, most handsome, selfless man on the planet. The icing on this deliciously rugged cake? He's smitten with Kate, and wants to work in her kitchen simply so he can learn from such a talented, wonderful prodigy of the culinary realm. Oh, gag me. Of course, there's got to be a catalyst to help Nick break down Kate's sour, standoffish exterior. Luckily for him, Kate's sister just died in a car wreck and left behind an adorable 10-year-old daughter named Zoe (played by "Little Miss Sunshine" star Abigail Breslin) to help grease the baking pan of love. With a name such as Zoe, you know she's -got to be cute, and Breslin fills the role better than a box full of kittens. ("I can't find my scarf," she pouts through tearwelled eyes as big as pizzas.) Not wanting to be left in Kate's apartment with a chain-smoking, nose-pierced, Goth babysitter ("I study lethal, rapidly mutating viruses. You know, like Ebola," the babysitter says), Zoe begins working nights at the restaurant with Kate. The two bond over the shared experience of flaming saucepans, op- "No Reservations" Warner Brothers Directed by Scott Hicks Written by Carol Fuchs, Sandra Nercelback Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin Rated PG/103 minutes Opens July 27,2007 Two out of four stars era music and Nick's perfect company. Audiences are so familiar with these conventions that director Scott Hicks ("Snow Falling on Cedars") doesn't even bother using dialogue in the most pivotal moments of thefilm.Instead, he cranks up the music and allows montages, and our expectations, to do all the work. Whether it's Kate crying in the freezer to lonely piano music or Nick, Kate and Zoe smiling and laughing to bouncy symphonic pieces, anytime the film hits a turning point and the dynamics change, the music is blaring. Hell, why write meaningful action and dialogue when you can let the string section fill in the blanks? Needless to say, none of this helps the film build any dramatic tension. No, romantic comedies aren't supposed to grip their audiences in the throes of suspense, but "No Reservations" goes beyond being predictable to being downright boring. From the moment Nick first appears, vomiting Kate's culinary praises all over the screen, there's no doubt they're going to end.up together. The only real obstacle the film sets up to their potential happiness is Kate's ego, but from the get-go she's such an emotional pushover (any time Zoe complains about her new circumstances, Kate strokes her hair and promises to make things up to her), and Nick's such a nice guy ("I made you my famous tiramisul"), that the couple spends the entire movie going through the motions without any real conflict or doubt in their future at ail. In the end, Hicks has cooked up a film with a couple of jokes and enough mellow, cliche"d warmth (there's even a pillow fight, complete with feathers drifting through the screen in slow motion) that I'm sure anyone who goes to the theater with a box of wine ought to be able to choke it down. Everyone else ought to order something else. a.zundel@ chronicle.utah.edu "My curly cue looks awesome, I just hope she doesn't roll the windows down." Zac Efron admires his hair as male lead Link Larkin. 'Hairspray' stands up Aaron Allen REDUX WRITER If the appeal of an actress can be measured by how well she pulls off riding into school on top of a garbage truck, Nikki Blonsky has appeal to spare in Adam Shankman's enormously entertaining "Hairspray," based on the 2002 stage musical (itself based on the 1988 John Waters movie—Hollywood is in a recycling mood). Blonsky hitches a ride on the truck after missing her bus and never looks anything less than radiant, all plucky determination and youthful innocence as she holds her arms out in the wind, ready to embrace the world. She missed her bus because she was too busy singing, "Good morning, Baltimore!" and shaking her ample rump to a '60s beat that only she and anyone else hip-with-the-times enough can groove to. Blonksy's performance as the hefty— though light on her feet— Tracy Turnblad is a frothy, bubbly delight, and I was amazed how smoothly her journey shifts from wannabe dancer on a '60s bandstand TV program (they don't want her on the air because she's—well, different in size from the twiggy girls her age) to frontline marcher for civil rights (the bandstand show is strictly segregated at the behest of a WASP-y dragon woman played to purr-fection by Michelle Pfeiffer). When Tracy ignorantly asks why whites and blacks don't just j "Hairspray" New Line Cinema Directed by Adam Shankman Written by Leslie Dixon, based on the 2002 stage musical Starring: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher VValken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Larjfah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Keiley and Nikki Blonsky Rated PG/117 minutes Opened July 20, 2007 Four out of four stars I •••• get along, a black DJ played by Queen Latifah answers, "Did you sleep through history class?" Tracy blinks and looks defensive: "Of course I did!" In Tracy's sweet mind, the color of your skin or the size of your pants shouldn't limit your potential. "Hairspray" is a glorious, often very funny celebration of progress, set to some terrific songs and dance numbers (with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman, who also wrote the brilliant songs for "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" and "Team America," which ought to earn this movie some cool points from the college crowd.) One of my favorite songs was "Welcome to the '60s," in which Tracy drags her dowdy, homebody mom out of the house and shows her all the fun she's been missing. By now I'm sure you've seen or read that Tracy's rotund mama is played by John Travolta In mounds of makeup, wigs and muumuus—a casting gimmick that I was sure would fall flat. But the inclusion of a man dressed in drag playing a woman in a story about accepting people's differences feels...I don't know. Natural. It doesn't hurt that Travolta goes whole hog (no pun intended) into the role, nicking his wrists, wiggling his massive bum and going all flirty with Christopher Walken, who plays Tracy's dad with his usual nimble footedness. In short, Travolta is a hoot (and, boy, can he dance under all that heavy make-up). Director Adam Shankman (who also choreographed the dancing) previously directed "A Walk to Remember," "The Pacifier" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2"—not exactly the brightest of resumes. He seems to have finally found his footing with "Hairspray," maintaining a goofy tone that both mocks and embraces the '60s era. The energy level is high and constant, both from the cast and from the cameramen, who dynamically shoot the action instead of plopping the camera in front-row-center, like most Broadway-to-movie adaptations do ("So un-cinematic," John Waters would say with a dismissive wave of his hand). In a summer full of transforming jets, swinging spidermen and swashbuckling pirates, "Hairspray" slays them all with hands-down the most unabashed fun to be had in a movie theater for some time. a.allen@ chronicle.utah.edu SATURDAY, AUG 4 6;OO P.M. 3 mile bicycle cruise around the city, beginning and ending at Liberty Park. r Here comes the airplane, BU7777777777!" Catherine Zeta-Jones endures Aaron Eckbart's romantic attempts in "No Reservations." Suggested minimum donation of $10 ft All proceeds benefit Marty Kasteler, who was intentionally run down by a truck while riding his bike home in June. Pronounce me done Firefighters Chuck and Larry (Adam Sandier and Kevin James, respectively) aren't really gay. They're just pretending for the legal benefits. But as long as everyone thinks they're gay, they have to live as if they're gay. And if they have to live as if they're gay, they just might find out what it's like to really be gay. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" Universal Directed by Dennis Dugan Written by Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, Barry Fanaro Starring Adam Sandier, Kevin James, Danm Akroyd, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi andVing Rhames. Rated PG-13/110 minutes Opened July 20,2007 Two out of four stars I smell a contrived message to middle America coming on. Yup. There it is. As fire captain TVucker (Akroyd) tells the duo, "What you shove up your ass is your own business." Way to call for equality through the use of stereotypes, guys. Aaron Zundel WWW. v; :::}daily • Utah chronicle .com Donate plasma. It pays to save a life. 2978 South State Street S.SaltUkeCity,UTMII5 80I.48S50BS www.zlbptasma.cofn ZLB Plasma $ 3 5 TODAY THIS WEEK For more info on Marty, visit www.helpmarty.org CUTTHROAT^ o RACING |