Waitress (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Waitress' is a dramedy written/directed by the late Adrienne Shelly. Jenna (Keri Russell) is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the South. She doesn't want the baby, but she's having it anyway. Her friends try, but even they can't raise her spirits. However, a new MD comes to town, she falls for him, & this relationship lights a spark in her soul. Cute film. I actually dug the cliched ending. But several moments of the film are a tad cloying.
Jenna bakes delicious pies; thanks to her mom. So her plan to escape Earl (Jeremy Sisto) seemed simple: 1) Squirrel away some $$. 2) Win a local pie-making contest. 3) Walk away with the prize $$. 4) Give her baby up for adoption, & 5) start her life anew. She only wishes it were that simple.
So, she continues to plug away at Joe's diner, even listening to Joe's (Andy Griffith) sage advice about life from time to time. He's a prickly man, & she's about the only one who'll take his crap. Her fellow waitress friends, Dawn & Becky (Adrienne Shelly, Cheryl Hines) sure won't. Luck starts changing for Jenna when she meets Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion, of Serenity). A torrid love affair begins ... but they're both married. They really seem to love each other. And he even gets her to start writing letters to her unborn, unwanted child. Things have become so complicated for poor Jenna. What decisions will she ultimately make? Can she build some self-confidence? Time for you to wade through the various subplots, witty dialogue, occasional trite moments, and watch this mildly enjoyable romp.
I loved the new pies Jenna would make, & how she'd name them based on the emotion she was feeling at the moment. Ex: 'I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie', etc. But for me, the film subtly loses its charm as it goes. But you should give it a shot; if only for Keri Russell's sweetly feminist performance. She's beautiful, engaging, & we want her to overcome her turmoil. I'd categorize this as a light dramedy (funny & serious components are brought up). Some of the light parts come in the filmmaking form of keeping the camera frozen on a face that doesn't stop smiling for 30 seconds. It's cute, but it also makes this film less believable, and more fable-like. That's all fine; but I was consistently confused by the tone of the film. Often funny, often silly, often serious, often whimsical, often hard to swallow, etc.
Jeremy Sisto is unbearable as the intolerable Earl. You hate him. The other characters are just fine, as well; which brings me to Adrienne Shelly (writer, director, & the character, 'Dawn'). How awful that she was murdered in her apartment on 11/06 (some 6 months before her film entered theaters). This was a smart, funny, pretty 40 yr. old woman who may have had a future in filmmaking. It's bittersweet that this is the last movie she'll be tied to. Just like Jenna's pies, her film was sweet, tart, delicious & fun. 'Waitress' doesn't offer many multi-dimensional characters or a 'clever' plot, but its sentiments stay mainly intact.
Jenna bakes delicious pies; thanks to her mom. So her plan to escape Earl (Jeremy Sisto) seemed simple: 1) Squirrel away some $$. 2) Win a local pie-making contest. 3) Walk away with the prize $$. 4) Give her baby up for adoption, & 5) start her life anew. She only wishes it were that simple.
So, she continues to plug away at Joe's diner, even listening to Joe's (Andy Griffith) sage advice about life from time to time. He's a prickly man, & she's about the only one who'll take his crap. Her fellow waitress friends, Dawn & Becky (Adrienne Shelly, Cheryl Hines) sure won't. Luck starts changing for Jenna when she meets Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion, of Serenity). A torrid love affair begins ... but they're both married. They really seem to love each other. And he even gets her to start writing letters to her unborn, unwanted child. Things have become so complicated for poor Jenna. What decisions will she ultimately make? Can she build some self-confidence? Time for you to wade through the various subplots, witty dialogue, occasional trite moments, and watch this mildly enjoyable romp.
I loved the new pies Jenna would make, & how she'd name them based on the emotion she was feeling at the moment. Ex: 'I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie', etc. But for me, the film subtly loses its charm as it goes. But you should give it a shot; if only for Keri Russell's sweetly feminist performance. She's beautiful, engaging, & we want her to overcome her turmoil. I'd categorize this as a light dramedy (funny & serious components are brought up). Some of the light parts come in the filmmaking form of keeping the camera frozen on a face that doesn't stop smiling for 30 seconds. It's cute, but it also makes this film less believable, and more fable-like. That's all fine; but I was consistently confused by the tone of the film. Often funny, often silly, often serious, often whimsical, often hard to swallow, etc.
Jeremy Sisto is unbearable as the intolerable Earl. You hate him. The other characters are just fine, as well; which brings me to Adrienne Shelly (writer, director, & the character, 'Dawn'). How awful that she was murdered in her apartment on 11/06 (some 6 months before her film entered theaters). This was a smart, funny, pretty 40 yr. old woman who may have had a future in filmmaking. It's bittersweet that this is the last movie she'll be tied to. Just like Jenna's pies, her film was sweet, tart, delicious & fun. 'Waitress' doesn't offer many multi-dimensional characters or a 'clever' plot, but its sentiments stay mainly intact.