It’s a
movie
about pie. You know
I’m going to love
it.
Keri Russell
stars as Jenna – the most amazing pie maker in town, who
wants to get away from
her controlling husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto).
She has been secretly saving up cash from her
waitressing job to go off
to compete in a pie making contest that could give her the money needed
to
start a new life, but Jenna becomes pregnant.
Now, she’s miserable, and
doesn’t see this as a blessing in any way, until
she gets to know the new town gynecologist, Dr. Pomatter (Nathan
Fillion).
Will this baby
change Jenna’s life for the good?
Will
she be able to get out of this place that brings her so much misery?
Waitress
has a
fun, whimsical side to it (and lots of scrumptious looking pies), but
also
tackles some heartbreaking issues along the way with the kind of
sensitive
touch that makes the two feel like they go together.
Writer/director Adrienne Shelley, tragically
murdered in New York in the fall of 2006, allows the audience to soak
in the character
and quirkiness of this small town, and the eccentric personalities who
make it
come to life, while also exploring the pain and troubles they face each
and
every day, and letting these characters be real people instead of tired
caricatures (except for Cheryl Hines, who is trying way too hard to be like Flo from Alice). Some
of it might feel like familiar
territory, but the cast makes the cliché come to life in a
positive way.
Russell
is fantastic as the spitfire nursing a broken heart as she
thinks about what life should be like, as compared to what it has
become. She
approaches it all with a very dry, world
weary and hilarious delivery, each comment full of fun, sarcasm and
true
emotion. You might
be shocked at how
mature and stunningly beautiful she has become over the years, and
I’m left
thinking this is the first step into a new and successful phase of her
career.
Fillion
continues to be one of the most entertaining actors you have never
heard of as
he plays the loving funny doc matching Russell line for line in their
wacky,
painful, and unlikely relationship.
While
Russell has an edge to her delivery, his is almost boyish and innocent,
which
serves as a great contrast.
Sisto is
perfectly horrifying as the control freak husband.
Since this is more of a bittersweet comedy,
he does not portray Earl as a raging violent husband, but one who is
needy,
controls with emotions and says some of the most horrible things you
can say to
any human being. You
hate and pity him
just the way you should. Thrown
in
Shelley as the shy waitress trying to find love, and Andy Griffith as
the
cantankerous owner, and you get a solid ensemble.
Waitress is not
a perfect movie. It
does drag in the
middle as we get a sense of where it is going, the editing could be
better so
as to not jar you when moving between some scenes, Earl’s
behavior would be
much worse if this wasn’t a comedy (and it is hard to see this
type of
dysfunctional relationship in a comedy) and it could be funnier all the
way
through, but you are better off seeing it than skipping it.
3
Waffles (Out
Of 4)
Waitress is
rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and thematic
elements.
Copyright
2007 - WaffleMovies.com
