6.2 stars.
The first 35 minutes, we are inundated by an obnoxious woman who runs a restaurant with her mother. She cooks her father's recipes, he was the previous owner of the restaurant. A washed out major league baseball player comes back to town and he knew her when they were younger, but she doesn't initially recognize him. He asks her if she will accept his help in her restaurant, he wants to create baked desserts for her restaurant, and to help get his baked goods to be recognized. When he begins working for her, what we witness is an extremely difficult, and arrogant female chef. What I appreciate about her performance is that she is significantly convincing at being difficult to work for. Unfortunately, what detracts from the enjoyment is her significantly convincing performance. It's a catch-22. This is a perfect lesson in how to embellish refinement. She irons out her wrinkles fairly quickly, and they work together to enter a restaurant competition.
The restaurant is too quaint and disorganized. The decor is atrocious, the tables and chairs are out of style and the arrangement is unappealing. I personally avoid restaurants that look so disorganized.
Her character is inconsistent and conflicted. Sometimes she is driven and difficult, and at other times lacking direction or purpose. These opposing traits are confusing and exactly why her polarizing behavior leaves the audience cold. Once again she levels out, but I'm left feeling unfulfilled.
He performs his role perfectly. If the male lead had lacked in any way, this film would be an utter disappointment.
