Simply Irresistible (film)

Simply Irresistible is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Tarlov and was written by Judith Roberts, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery. It is Regency Enterprises' first film to be released by 20th Century Fox, instead of Warner Bros. Pictures.
==Plot==
Amanda Shelton inherits her late mother's restaurant, but lacks the ability to cook. The restaurant is failing when Amanda meets a mysterious and possibly magical man at the local market. He introduces himself as Gene O'Reilly and claims to be an old friend of her mother's. He sells her crabs, one of which escapes cooking to become her personal mascot. While chasing the crab, Amanda meets Tom Bartlett, a department store manager at Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue, who is opening an ambitious new restaurant inside his store. Though they are clearly attracted to each other, Tom is involved with a clingy but beautiful woman named Chris.
Later that day, Tom and Chris are on their way to lunch, where Tom plans to break up with Chris, but the cab driver drops them at the wrong location— Amanda's restaurant, the Southern Cross. Tom sees Amanda outside, and decides they should have lunch there instead.
For unclear reasons, Amanda begins cooking her feelings into her food, and she miraculously becomes an impressive, creative chef. Chris, driven by Amanda's negative feelings toward her cooked into her own food, breaks up with Tom and begins smashing plates in the restaurant. Tom, however, is unbothered as he is more focused on how delicious his crab dish is, with Amanda aspiring to make a truly amazing dish.
Amanda visits Tom at Henri Bendel so that he can replace the plates that Chris broke. When he eats éclairs that Amanda baked her passion for Tom into and he feeds her one, they end up in a trance together. He shows her the space where the new restaurant will be, where they have a shared fantasy wherein they dance flirtatiously, and they begin a romance.
Meanwhile, after Tom's assistant Lois steals an éclair from Tom that Tom himself had stolen from one of Amanda's patrons and is enamored by how delicious it is, she buys as many éclairs from Amanda's restaurant as she can so she can seduce Jonathan Bendel, the owner of Henri Bendel.
As a result of her food improving overnight, the Southern Cross becomes increasingly successful. One night, Tom visits Amanda after the restaurant has closed and after tasting a dish of hers, they begin to kiss and start floating. Tom panics and breaks things off with Amanda, believing she is some kind of witch who is manipulating his feelings with magic.
When Amanda goes to confront Tom one last time at his office, she witnesses the violent tantrum and resignation of a celebrity French chef hired for Tom's new restaurant. When Jonathan realizes that Amanda cooked the eclairs Lois had fed him, he demands that Tom hire her for the opening, despite his protests.
On opening night, Amanda is initially shunned by the snobbish French staff and that, coupled with her continued heartbreak over Tom, causes her to unknowingly cook her sorrow into one of the first courses, causing the entire restaurant to sob uncontrollably. She eventually overcomes her self-doubt and reaches her full potential as a chef, and the opening is a complete success.
Stunned but enchanted by the remarkable effect Amanda's food has had on the guests, Tom goes after Amanda as she's leaving the opening. He convinces her to come back and admits his love for her, and the two reconcile on the dance floor, not noticing Gene is gleefully conducting the orchestra behind them, implying the magic that sparked in Amanda came from him.
==Cast==
* Sarah Michelle Gellar as Amanda Shelton
* Sean Patrick Flanery as Tom Bartlett
* Patricia Clarkson as Lois McNally
* Dylan Baker as Jonathan Bendel
* Christopher Durang as Gene O'Reilly
* Larry Gilliard Jr. as Nolan Traynor
* Betty Buckley as Aunt Stella
* Amanda Peet as Chris
* Gabriel Macht as Charlie
==thumb|right|335 pxTheatrical Trailer==
Category:1999 films
Category:20th Century Fox films
Category:Regency Enterprises films
Category:Regency films
Category:Rated PG-13
Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films