No Reservations Reviews

1. "Its best asset is the trio of genial performances by Zeta-Jones, Eckhart and Breslin, who proves she was no one-hit wonder as the child star of Little Miss Sunshine. The starring couple's substantial chemistry is enlivened by the addition of Breslin as Zeta-Jones' niece. She's less sweetly innocent and more of a mouthy tween this time around, proving her broadening acting talents."
- USA Today

2. "Breslin again shows she's got the right stuff by playing a bereaved kid without asking for sympathy."
- Variety

3. "On a dessert note, No Reservations should also eliminate any doubts about Breslin, who earned an unlikely Oscar nomination for her role in Little Miss Sunshine. Though this movie pushes the button of the child's grief too many times for comfort, Breslin is the real deal. She has that gift, irrespective of age or experience, of showing an emotion so transparently it seems less like acting than a way of being."
- The Globe and Mail

4. "Breslin quietly centers the movie with her gentle seriousness."
- Entertainment Weekly

5. "But the cast of Mostly Martha—like the extraordinary Abigail Breslin here—transcended the material to bring the predictable story a real spark. Five years from now, this bland and forgettable throwaway will be remembered only for Breslin, who will by then be a poised and gifted 16-year-old actress. She acts circles around everyone in sight, and, in a cast that includes not only Laundry-Load Jones but Patricia Clarkson and Aaron Eckhart, that's no small feat. But Abigail Breslin—wow. At 11 years old she's as promising an actor as Jodie Foster was in Taxi Driver, though she replaces Foster's toughness with a melting vulnerability. We know from Little Miss Sunshine that she can be funny; here, when she's asked to leave for school without her lucky scarf, her stricken look is pure gold. But what puts Breslin in another league is her ability to show the multiple layers of Zoe's grief—raw longing for her mother, fury at being stuck with her cold aunt, and the fake self-assurance of a child trying to protect herself from further harm. The delicacy of Breslin's performance has the unintended effect of making this seem like a movie about a girl mourning her mother's death, while some idiotic grown-ups run around in the foreground talking about food. By the end of the movie, she has the entire audience wanting to sue for legal custody."
- Slate

6. "Breslin has obviously mastered that style of innocence and line delivery that worked in her Oscar-nominated part in last year's "Little Miss Sunshine"."
- The Washington Post

7. "Breslin, who was admirably poised amid the indie shtick of "Little Miss Sunshine," shows the same good instincts here: Even when Hicks clumsily and cheaply plants the camera's gaze on her grieving face -- she has just learned her mother is dead -- she survives the moment with her dignity intact."
- Salon.com

8. "Little Miss Breslin is the one you would credit with a truthful performance. She and the kitchen underlings, real restaurant workers employed to give authenticity to the food preparation and cries of, “Yes, chef!”"
- Empire

9. "...Zoe (played with extraordinary maturity by Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine)."
- Tiscali UK

10. "And while on the subject of Zoe, Abigail Breslin - of Little Miss Sunshine fame - is the best thing in the film."
- Urban Cinefile

11. "...Breslin is a wonderfully capable child actor..."
- Apollo Movie Guide

12. "What Abigail Breslin adds to the mix in her role as the heartbroken niece is very impressive. Breslin and Eckhart have some charming moments together in the movie, flipping pizza and cooking a big dinner, and it's all fairly low-key and endearing."
- JAM! Showbiz

13. "Breslin impresses with another decent performance in the kid actor apartment, although her character, more often than not, exhibits that mix of precociousness and ultra-wise qualities that moviemakers seem to love to imbue kid characters with in films meant to pull on heartstrings."
- Qwipster's Movie Reviews

14. "Wonderful acting all around, especially by Abigail Breslin as Zoe, the ten-year old. Thankfully, she isn’t precocious and annoying showing the adults how it’s done."
- Rants by Robert

15. "Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) shows us that she can indeed act. She is good in expressing her character's despair, loneliness, confusion, vulnerability, and joy. That's quite a lot of emotions for such a young actress."
- Ray's Rave Reviews

16. "What I especially liked, was the heartfelt performance by Abigail Breslin. She has once again raised her game to another level (she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Little Miss Sunshine). It may be because I too am getting old but I truly felt sorry for her character. I kept thinking about how my children would react under similar circumstances. So long as this young girl keeps her head on straight (no Lohan moments), I can see her doing some great things."
- The Critical Critics

17. "Abigail Breslin, the finest young actress in the business, once again nails down a complicated, emotional role."
- Bullz-Eye

18. "And then there’s Abigail Breslin. While her character is generally reduced to being the summer sun that defrosts Kate’s emotional iceberg, Breslin turns up the charm and tears and never misses a step."
- CinemaBlend.com

19. "and Breslin, who continues to grow right before our eyes, shows us why she is one of the finest actors of her young generation."
- Cinemattraction

20. "...His scenes with the hugely talented Breslin do provide the films few stand-out moments as he gets her to emerge from her grief through the power of pasta."
- Close-Up Film Reviews

21. "Breslin continues to show growth as she never overplays Zoe, even when she learns of her mother's death."
- DVDSleuth.com

22. "Though the script treads familiar ground, it gets a strong delivery from veteran actors Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Abigail Breslin. More impressive than Jones and Eckhart is 11-year-old Abigail Breslin as Kate's orphaned niece. Anyone who's seen Little Miss Sunshine knows Breslin is a rarity in the child acting world. Not only is she cute without being annoying, she can act. Her performance is a refreshing change from the sickeningly sweet doe-eyed scene chewing you usually see in films like this. Like her adult co-stars, she does the best she can with the material she's been given."
- DVD Veredict

23. "The one that outshines both of them is the irresistible Abigail Breslin, who is sorely underused, in terms of screen time and dialogue. When we first meet her in the hospital and she realizes her mother had been killed, her reaction actually made me choke up for a few seconds—yes, she is that good. I'm praying she doesn't go down the same route Dakota Fanning has been traveling in recent years."
- DVD Veredict (2)

24. "Young Abigail Breslin gave a good performance as Zoe..."
- ePinions

25. "Abigail Breslin was really good in the part. She made Zoe a believable character."
- ePinions (2)

26. "Breslin is very good as well in her portrayal of an orphan hot off the presses. She can cry on a dime and doesn’t overplay the tooth-achingly sentimental stuff the screenwriters keep shovelling her way."
- Exclaim!

27. "Abigail Breslin is affecting without being mawkish as the little girl who longs for her mother. As capable here as in Little Miss Sunshine, she brings more depth to the part than either of the two adult leads... The scenes between him and Breslin are some of the best in the film."
- Eye For Film

28. "Plus, it helps that Breslin is the most adorable, realistic child actor out there. She would take Dakota Fanning in an act-off cage match any day."
- Filmcritic.com

29. "But it helps that The Kid is played here by Abigail Breslin, who at the age of 11 has already managed to score an Oscar nomination, and no wonder: into a part that all but demands insufferable precociousness, she injects instead a heartbreaking directness. The screenwriting helps -- her first words upon waking up in the hospital after a car wreck are "Where's mom? Is she dead? She is, isn't she?" -- but it's Breslin's level stare and light-up-the-world smile that seal the deal. Together, she and Zeta-Jones squeeze so much out of so little; it's genuinely gratifying to watch young Zoe bring the best out in Kate."
- Film Blather

30. "But the best parts of this movie are Clarkson and Breslin, who act circles around everyone else."
- Film Gecko

31. "The cast is terrific and the movie is as adorable as Abigail Breslin is. Abigail Breslin, as she did in Little Miss Sunshine, stands out as well as the astute and adorable Zoey. She may be a little too smart for her age, but the advantage is the dramatic scenes are more intelligent than they would be if she were the average little girl."
- Film School Rejects

32. "There are things to praise here--among them, the performance of Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), whose reaction shots are subtle yet priceless."
- Hollywood In Hi-Def

33. "While Zeta-Jones probably wouldn’t be my first choice to play this character she’s still awfully strong, while both Eckhart and Breslin add such solid support it’s exceedingly difficult not to root for the trio to find a way to work everything out."
- MovieFreak.com

34. "And Abigail Breslin. What can I say about Abby? As delightful as she was in “Little Miss Sunshine” she is moreso here. More nuanced in her facial expressions and tonal inflections as reflective of her advancing skills, she is a master of emotional manipulation and adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the film. Even more impressive is the fact that Abby takes an integral character with a sub-standardly written storyline and turns it into spun gold. Particularly effective are the scenes involving Eckhart and Abby. These two are endearing together."
- Movie Shark Deblore

35. "Abigail Breslin does a good job portraying Zoë, a kid who lost one family and is determined to build a new one."
- Reeling Reviews

36. "Abigal Breslin, who won audience’s hearts in “Little Miss Sunshine”, is amazing as Zoe, the newly orphaned niece to Kate... Breslin’s sad reactions to all of this is played through her body language and tear-filled eyes—truly a touching performance."
- Reel Movie Critic

37. "Abigail Breslin, one of the youngest actresses to earn an Academy Award nomination (for last year's Little Miss Sunshine), can't be overlooked as well. Her role may be somewhat cliché in No Reservations but she pulls it off without wavering."
- ReelTalk Movie Reviews

38. "Superb acting from Eckhart and Breslin, however, gives this film its sparkle. Breslin is utterly convincing, and her relationship with Zeta Jones is touchingly believable."
- Screenjabber

39. "Abigail Bresling, who shot to fame in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs and then won acclaim as well as an Oscar nomination for her role in Little Miss Sunshine, is pretty much the saving grace to No Reservations. There is something instantly likeable and quirky about her and her character which makes a change from the norm for this sort of film, which tends to favour sickly cute children."
- The Movie Scene

No Reservations Reviews

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