Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a somewhat improbable master chef in Scott Hicks's romantic comedy.

She's breathtaking in her Manhattan kitchen, and not just to look at. But the rest of her life is a shambles, especially when her nine-year-old niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin), comes to live with her after the death of her sister. Added to that, when she returns from therapy, she finds a rival chef, Nick (Aaron Eckhart), lording it over the kitchen. He insists on playing Pavarotti records while working and trying to keep everybody happy by making them laugh. Not at all her style.

Naturally, she hates him, but we know in this sort of film that she will eventually fall in love with the handsome new cook. And that the little girl, thoroughly difficult after her bereavement, will find a reason to become emotionally stable again, thanks to the ebullient Nick. But, before that, all sorts of havoc ensues.

Hicks, who directed Shine in Australia, is a good filmmaker but hampered here by a bland and obvious screenplay. There's entertainment to be had, especially when Kate furiously deals with rudely ignorant customers, but it all goes on too long and runs out of original ideas some time before the end.

No Reservations is based on a much better German film called Mostly Martha, which was genuinely charming, eccentric and funny. Alas, this is one of those Hollywood copies that is perfectly decent in its acting and direction but hopelessly deficient in originality and any real flair.