This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 8:48 pm and is filed under Comedy, Dramedy, NEW ON VIDEO, W. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Adrienne Shelly
Starring: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto, Adrienne Shelly, Andy Griffith
Waitress is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. Adrienne Shelly skillfully wrote, and directed, this clever and funny screenplay about regret and restlessness with the choices we make in our lives and what we do about them. Shelly, who still had some spare time it seems, also got in front of the camera to take on one of the supporting roles, as well. There is a basic story, but the characters are great and there’s lots of subtly amusing dialog and the whole package is hlped by some very good writing.
Keri Russell is Jenna, a pie-genius waitress in a small-town diner in the deep south who hates her controlling and self-absorbed husband (Jeremy Sisto)and is a just a little less than thrilled to discover that she is pregnant, as well. Jenna finds release through her friends and co-workers, Becky and Dawn (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly) and through her creative creation of ‘unearthly and sensual’ pies, while plotting her escape to a life more livable. Her preganancy throws a hitch into those plans, but when a new doctor appears in town, another kind of escape possibility begins to emerge.
Waitress is a dark, but gentle, comedy with a bland title that makes it easy to miss. That’s a shame because it is the best chick flick of 2007, and one of the year’s best movies. It is reminiscent of Fried Green Tomatoes in its setting and characters, but is better and funnier . It is a good movie, but most, unfortunately, will miss it. Now, you don’t have to, though.
