The substitute ingredients are (1) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Kate, a great chef (she's single and lives in a fabulous brownstone in New York City) who happens to like life very orderly, controlled, and finely minced; (2) Aaron Eckhart as Nick, a great chef (he's single and lives in a fabulous loft in New York City) who happens to like life very loose, spontaneous, and stirred up; and (3) Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin as Kate's 9-year-old niece, Zoe, who unexpectedly comes under Kate's wing for nurturing and protection. Kate runs the kitchen at an upscale West Village restaurant (a soignée Patricia Clarkson plays owner and manager) with precision and intensity of purpose. Nick, who shows up to fill in as sous-chef, likes to crack jokes, sing along to opera while he sautés, and wave an uncooked quail in the air for musical emphasis. Zoe looks sad when her aunt serves her fancy dishes at home for dinner, since all the kid wants is a hug and a fish stick.

If you don't instantly recognize that bickering Kate and Nick are eventually going to want to fork each other — and that Nick will teach Kate how to become a warmer, softer woman capable of relating to others who are not, say, fishmongers — then you have never read a recipe book or a romance novel.

A familiar dish doesn't have to be a bland one, but No Reservations, which has been Americanized from the 2002 German romantic comedy Mostly Martha with a script by first-timer Carol Fuchs and impersonal direction from Scott Hicks (Shine), doesn't allow for the slightest grain of salt. Or pepper, beginning with Zeta-Jones' tense performance as a '' regular'' New York woman who dresses in a palette of gloom and wears a hat borrowed from Mary Tyler Moore. 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. The all-work, no-play professionally successful female character who comes home to her empty apartment, presses the button on her answering machine, and hears the accusatory refrain '' No messages'' is the creation of moviemakers with no new ideas about what to make for dinner.

This film is definitely a masterpiece. The story is simply but have a profound meaning, and be told properly—all the unnecessary plot is omitted; montage goes along, shifting the two lines (Edward’s memory of the past and his adventure in new world) naturally and fluently. Both the director and actors have done a good job. And also the composer--Danny Elfman, whose visional and even unearthly music fits the picture perfectly.
　　
It’s a story full of contrasts. The charnel castle and the quite lovely town; the castle’s apparent horror and its actual downfall; Edward’s terrifying appearance and his tender, and even timid heart; his kind and generous behaviors and the crowd’s tart and inconsiderable manners; the poetic cinematography and its cruel ending—prince and princess separated from each other forever.
　　
This movie is also about how people dealing with the “outsider”. Edward was an outsider because he was different from common people. He was thrown into the world, incomplete and all alone. When he had a chance to go out, he was so excited and curious. He wanted to embrace the new world. But what he faced is people’s cruelty and misunderstanding. Yes, he was welcomed by them and even once considered as a “star” to show on the TV. But do they really like him, or just want to have fun? The fact is people watched him like he was a strange animal, and they preferred to enjail him into the unreal world rather than accept him as a member of them. And of course people could not forgive him, or gave him any chance, even his mistake was unintentional. But as pure and sincere as a little boy, Edward just simply wanted to make up and fit in, which unfortunately led more serious consequences. People and the world didn’t trust him anymore and then they shut the door.
　　
Can’t you see that, by some sense, we are all like Edward? We also try hard to fit in, but occasionally, we just can’t get accepted. We face all kinds of misunderstandings and under lots of pressure by the others. Sometimes I wonder which choice one should make. If he devotes himself into the world, he may lose something within him. But remember, Edward never regrets. He did what he really wanted to. He was exiled, but he was true to his own heart. Can we do that? I believe most of us can’t. Because we don’t want to be an outsider. So actually we are restricted by the others or a certain circumstance that we can not choose. Maybe it’s the basic puzzledom of our existence. And interesting enough, we sometimes act as one of the “crowd”. We show despite and laugh at those who are freak and different. Is there anything more sorrowful than this?
　　
And at last, let me add some words to the authors. You know, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp usually work in ideally, as someone ever said, “truly dedicated people set out to create something beautiful, some chemistry occurs and ... a miracle happens.” Though I only watched two of their works—one is this piece and the other is last year’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I can see it clearly. Burton has an amazing gift as a fabulist. His films have nothing to do with history—they always happen in Xanadu, just far from reality—but have much to do with our living surroundings, and in this way, they are more real than those “realistic” films. And his gothic, quirky and funny style is really enchanting (just think about that cookies factory). Johnny Depp is also a genius. Edward actually is very hard to perform, for he is a sensitive and complicated role with only few lines (less than 100). But Depp used his features and gestures properly and they're just perfect.