Waitress is a romantic, slightly dark comedy that, like any good waitress makes you want to stay for seconds . It stars Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto,and Andy Griffith. It was written, directed and also starred the late Adrienne Shelly. It has been in limited release since May 2nd.
Here’s the premise:
It’s about Jenna, a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the Deep South. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness
Although this sounds a little depressing this movie is as easy to take as a warm slice of apple pie a la mode. The characters are hilarious, the acting is as varied in colors as the many pies that Jenna bakes (her pies make my mouth water, Marshmallow Mermaid pie was my favorite).
I wasn’t sure what to expect with Waitress, looked a bit boring from the trailers but within fifteen minutes I was hooked. The dialogue is great; very sharp and sarcastic. Kerri Russell is definitely showing her chops, she has never really caught my interest, she wasn’t bad on Felicity, but she never really wowed me, this changes things. She does dark, subtle comedy brilliantly and the chemistry between her and Fillion is fantastic. Russell also hold her own with Andy Griffith. Now I was worried hearing he was in this movie, because he is DAMNED old. But the guy is frigging hysterical and if anything has gotten better as he’s aged. Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) also does a bang up job as the straight talking slutty waitress.
My favorite character though would have to be the one played by the late Adrienne Shelly, it is absolutely tragic that she died before this was released because (with the exception of Griffith) she is the funniest character in this film, very lovable and awkward.
With all the good stuff going for it Waitress is not perfect, it is slightly predictable at times, things can come off as a bit hokey as well. I would recommend this to a slightly older crowd, don’t think 17 year old girls or guys are going to enjoy it as much as people who have had a small slice of this life. Overall this is a very watchable flick and with all of the quality humor folded into the romance and drama there is a good chance that men will enjoy Waitress too. For a no go or routh it’s a go. On a scale of 1-10 it’s a solid 8.5.
I found it to be an inspirational, moving story about a woman trapped in an unhealthy marriage, although at times predictable, and disappointing, especially in the end, when they didn’t give the audience a final “good life pie” to send us on our way. That made the 2-hour set up of this philosophy fall flat.
Thanks for the review – I might actually check this out though it’ll likely be on DVD with all the big blockbusters coming out this month.
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I will check this out. The trailer looks funny, Kerry Russel is cute and Nathan Fillon finally needs to become a star goddammit. Why he isn’t already is beyond me, the guy could be the next Harrison Ford.
Living in NYC, I am familiar with the story of her murder. What a terrible waste of life. All because she went downstairs to tell that Mexican worker to quiet down because he was making too much noise.
For a movie reportedly done on a shoestring budget, I am surprised at the number of “names” involved in the project. Sounds like a neat little flick.