Simply Irresistible (1999)

First of all let me say I am a HUGE Sarah fan, and this film has gotten bad reviews from alot of people. This is not a film for you if you are looking for action, if you are, don't get this, because you won't like it. If you like romantic dramas, you will definetly like this. This movie wasn't made expecting EVERYONE to fall head over heels in love with it, it was made for people who enjoy films like this. Sarah plays a young girl who has no parents, and she lives by herself, and she runs her mom's resturaunt with her aunt. When the resturaunt may have to close because rent can't be kept up, somehow, Sarah's character starts to make delicious, delectable, irrisistible food that everyone falls in love with. She meets this guy who is opening a resturaunt, and the film just flows out from there. It's a great film, and it's great for those who want to watch a good movie with their girlfriend or boyfriend or for someone who just wants a good Saturday night movie to chill and watch. Sarah Michelle Gellar gives an amazing performance as usual, and you will not be dissapointed.

Simply Irresistible may not have done well in the box office, but that certainly doesn't mean that this film doesn't have any charm. Just because a movie doesn't find a proper following doesn't make it any less charming, in my opinion. Simply Irresistible is one of the best movies I've seen that hasn't had much viewership. It's fun, sweet, romantic, and just simply enjoyable all the way through.

This movie certainly boasts a top-notch cast that is led by the wonderful and amazing Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery. Amanda, played by Sarah Michelle, starts off as an awful chef but almost magically turns into a wonderful one overnight. She then begins falling in love with Tom, played by Sean Patrick, who is the owner of a popular department store.

Simply Irresistible tells a wonderful and romantic story of how scary falling in love can truly be and how wonderful it can be all at the same time. If you're in the mood for a light, romantic comedy, then I highly recommend this movie.

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I rented this movie purely on the basis of a pretty charming little rave print review by Roger Ebert,and was glad I did (ended up even buying a copy on VHS for myself). The movie is slight and whimsical -lots of magic, not a lot of gritty reality -but it's sweet and strange and has a lot of charm. The characters are daffy and whimsically painted, and don't go the usual hollywood movie route. Gellar is sweet and insecure as the heroine -a much less glamorous role than her weekly (equally fabulous) vampire slaying Buffy heroine -while Buckley and Flanery and the fine supporting cast are all enjoyable to watch in the romantic mishaps that ensue. The wonderful Patricia Clarkson meanwhile is so much fun that she steals every scene she's in without detracting a bit from the appeal of her costars -a pretty good trick (it's worth the price of admission to hear her say, "This is nutty. Hazel-nutty.").

I really loved this movie - started out wondering where it was going, but by the end I didn't care - the writing is offbeat and fun, not so by the book. The movie's not "Schindler's List" or anything, sure -it's pretty lightweight -but it doesn't feel as Hollywood-ish as your usual romantic comedy, and you really never know what the characters will say next. The food also looks glorious and really adds to the sense of whimsy. The soundtrack is as sweet and fun as everything else -if you need cheering up, or convincing that there's still a bit of Astaire and Rogers in the world, this one's a great choice, where a perfect eclair can create true love, and a wonderful meal can make people weep with delight (and float in the air a time or two)...

Read Best Reviews of Simply Irresistible (1999) Here

"A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness." ~Elsa Schiaparelli

Sarah Michelle Gellar's softer side appears as she picks up the batterie de cuisine and tackles saving a restaurant from certain death. When it looks like Amanda's career is about to end as a chef, an angel appears in her life and gives her some sage advice about looking for a door that will open when another one closes. As the chef of a failing 70 year-old restaurant, the Southern Cross, she only has her loyal clientele who are not there for the food.

To say she is adorable as a chef is an understatement. She appears in a variety of fashionable outfits and weaves a sweet innocent spell on the viewer. Worth watching to see Sarah dressed up in a variety of outfits and different hairstyles.

There are also scenes of outdoor markets, beautiful orchids and of course restaurant scenes, Sarah shopping, cooking and crawling about on the floor chasing after magical crabs all to romantic music.

Instead of slaying vampires, "Buffy" bewitches Tom Bartlett (Sean Patrick Flanery) and entices love right into her life through cooking a variety of gourmet dishes. If every man has his weakness, Tom's weakness is luscious cuisine.

"She can cook things that make you crazy." ~Tom

As every kitchen sorceress has discovered, the right food can create the right mood and can invite happiness and love into your life. I loved the dance scene and the scene where Tom and Amanda disappear into the scented mist. This movie emphasizes the aphrodisiac qualities of food.

Amanda Shelton (Sarah) only discovers her true cooking talents after meeting Tom. At first she seems unaware of her current fate while Tom seems to be trying to control his fate. He is disturbed by his lack of emotional control and when he falls "in love" with Amanda, his world seems to be spinning out of control.

"My whole life was ordinary and then we met and these amazing things started to happen." ~Amanda

Is it love that makes Amanda a better cook and makes her cooking taste even better to Tom? Are their senses in a state of heightened awareness from the chemicals rushing through their bodies or is there magic floating about? Once she finds a recipe for caramel éclairs, Tom is even more attracted to her.

There are very few movies about cooking or chefs so this one is a treat. Tear drops in the food reminded me of Like Water for Chocolate. The emotions Amanda feels are somehow magically mixed into the food she is cooking. Either the dishes make people cry, stun them or make them lose their inhibitions. She seems to have a magical gift for culinary creations that have an effect on anyone who consumes them.

Is the orchid plant in this movie the "Oncidium Sharry Baby?" It did look similar, although I can't say for sure. Some people say it has a fruity vanilla scent and not really a chocolate scent. Most types of vanilla do not produce the vanilla beans. If you wanted to cook with flowers, you would want to make sure that the flowers you added to your cooking were edible. Orchid flowers are apparently edible.

Vanilla beans are the cigar-shaped seed pods from a climbing orchid and the pods must be picked, boiled and heated in the sun. It literally takes months to produce the delicious vanilla flavor. It actually takes 100 beans to make 1 gallon of vanilla extract. If you love vanilla extract, you might also enjoy: Fiori di Sicilia flavoring for your baking.

After watching this movie you may want to feed your lover oranges, invest in some expensive vanilla extract, get lost in a kiss or cook up some bliss. If you are looking for the best vanilla for your cooking, Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla is superior.

Deliciously cute, silly spells, sweet innocent love and a few hot and steamy kissing scenes in the kitchen. For romantics and lovers of kitchens and cuisine. Almost a culinary Cinderella story.

You might enjoy these books:

The Seduction Cookbook by Diane Brown (Baked Salmon with Raspberry Cabernet Sauce, ideas for late night seduction snacks and information on growing an erotic herb garden.)

A Passionfruit Cookbook by Patrick Jesse Pons-Worley (The flavor of passion fruit is so seductive and exotic.)

Written with a Spoon (Poetry and Recipes)

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids by Alec Pridgeon

The Edible Flower Garden by Rosalind Creasy

InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook (The "Fig Pastries" are decadent and naughty.)

Crab Cooking: Famous Recipes from Famous Places by Joyce Lafray

Movies with Food Themes:

Babette's Feast

Like Water for Chocolate

Scent of Green Papaya

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Big Night

~The Rebecca Review

P.S. If you need a recipe for the caramel iced éclairs to entice someone with see the comments section for the link.

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Mmmm, mussels...

They provide an excellent metaphor for this little known romantic comedy as they are an unforgiving shell surrounding an unmistakeably unique tasting meat. Either you like them or you don't and so it is with this film. If you have trouble enjoying the average Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan canoodler then this movie probably isn't for you. Only the truly romantic who believe in spells and rapture will appreciate "Simply Irresistible".

The story doesn't always make sense as it tends to meander off in odd ways just like the character Stella, (played dizzily by Betty Buckley), but this is also part of its charm, it's unpredictability. There is a woozy style to the filmmaking that perfectly captures the story's setup. A young chef finds love and fulfillment at the claws of a magical crab. As silly as it sounds, "Simply Irresistible" is also incredibly sincere with first rate performances from all involved.

However even the tastiest mussels sometimes get gritty and there are enough (what the?) moments in "Simply Irresistible" to snap first time viewers out of their trances. This is a film that actually improves the more you watch it, as the discordant moments tend to soften with exposure.

The ending is by far the movie's weakest link as it asks the viewer to believe in an instantaneous makeover for the movie's star and revisit a restaurant scene that has long exhausted its interest. How much better would it have been if leading man Tom, (Sean Patrick Flanery), had met Amanda, (Sarah Michelle Gellar), on the pavement in front of the department store and taken her for a walk through the nighttime streets of midtown Manhattan? We would have gotten to see more of their admirable chemistry and maybe been given a glance at how their relationship would develop after the credit roll. Instead were left literally dangling in mid air feeling a bit silly.

Because of its flawed ending, I can only give "Simply Irresistible" four stars and certain plot holes would have reduced this score to three if it weren't for the always inventive use of soundtrack in the movie. One plot hole that particularly disappoints is the disappearance of Amanda's benefactor Gene O'Reilly, (played wonderfully by playwright Christopher Durang), after the film's first few minutes. More of his presence might have helped to ease the audience into the magical realism the script so heavily relies upon.

Thankfully moments of spontaneous convergence abound, when the dialogue, acting, and direction merge into such effortless liquidity that it's like watching a lava lamp; hypnotic. Nothing creates this effect better than Patricia Clarkson's sumptuously brassy performance as Tom's assistant Lois. Every scene she's in she steals and her seduction of department store tycoon Jonathan Bendel, (Dylan Baker), more than justifies the suspension of disbelief this film requires.

Flanery and Gellar work well together here with Flanery delicately walking a fine line as an ambitious yet romantically feckless young executive enchanted by Amanda's cooking and then by Amanda herself. My favorite moment: when Tom arrives at Amanda's very busy restaurant to break it off with her only to be smitten all over again as she hands him a customer's plate to deliver. The song "Secret Smile" by Semisonic starts to swell as Amanda intones "The mussels are ready" while beaming a thousand watt grin in his direction. It's the kind of magic scene that enlivens this unusual and giddy confection of a film.

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