Waitress (2007)

26 out of 28 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

Waitress

SAI81 from from Tonbridge, 19th August, 2007

Adrienne Shelly's fourth film as writer/director is one of those wonderful surprises that the cinema, every so often, hands to you. At first glance you've seen it all before; a woman (Russell) trapped in an unhappy marriage to a man she doesn't even like anymore (Sisto) who falls pregnant and looks for a way to escape the rut her life is in, perhaps through a relationship with the handsome new doctor in town (Fillion). As with so many things though Waitress is all in the execution. Shelly's script just sparkles. It's loaded end to end with jokes, the great bulk of them laugh out loud funny. What makes Waitress stand out though is that all these jokes feel organic. These aren’t words put into people’s mouths, they come from the characters, each of whom establishes his or her own distinct voice. Shelly wisely keeps the direction simple for the most part and the film grounded solidly in reality, which allows the scripts broader moments to be easier to accept. She’s also helped in this by her excellent cast. Keri Russell is an actress I’ve only seen briefly and, to be honest, never thought a great deal of. What a difference here. The whole movie rests on Russell’s shoulders and she’s brilliant in it. Jenna’s a cutie and a sweet person but Russell and Shelly refuse to make her perfect; she can be short tempered, she cheats on her husband with a married man and she doesn’t love her coming baby…. And yet Russell is so magnetic and funny that you can’t help but love Jenna and root for her every step of the way. Nathan Fillion is effective as the constantly on edge Dr Pomater and his effortless way with a one-liner, honed under Joss Whedon, is a gift for the movie. The pie diner at which Jenna works provides a strong supporting cast too with Cheryl Hines amusingly dense, but not a little touching, as Becky and Shelly herself, sweetly funny as Dawn. Also worth mentioning are scene nabbing turns from Eddie Jemison and from Andy Griffith. Waitress, unlike most rom-coms, doesn’t offer simple answers. It doesn’t tie everything up in a nice neat bow with everyone happy and smiling as the credits roll. It’s much more interesting and shaded than that. That said this is an amazingly sweet film, but one which manages to carry that tone off without becoming so sugary as to be cloying. There is sadness behind Waitress though. This is the final film by Adrienne Shelly, soon after it was completed and mere days after its acceptance to the Sundance film festival Shelly was murdered in a senseless attack in her office. There could be no better tribute than this film, it’s as alive and as engaging as any released in a very long time and will ensure that though we won’t have any more films from this hugely promising writer/director we’ll remember and treasure this one at least.

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21 out of 28 people found the following review helpful:

Book a table.. this is worth a watch...

PaulaWestwood from from Ashton-Under-Lyne, 22nd August, 2007

A very nice quirky, thoughtful, rom-com that is certainly not run of the mill stuff, it follows the very different but somehow fused characters in, and surrounding, a diner style pie house in the U.S.A. That is the U.S. 'mommas' sort of pies - not the ones with steak and kidney in from Wigan ! There are quite a few little side plots and stuff that really draw you in rather than distract you, and the whole is a wonderfully acted, wonderfully scripted and warmly made peach of a film that I would definately recommend.

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16 out of 17 people found the following review helpful:

Bittersweet! A must watch!

A Customer from South West London, 18th August, 2007

I wasn't too keen on watching a movie about a waitress whose only talent was making pies inspired by the mood she was in. But after having read about Shelly's death and the fact that she died before knowing how successfully her movie was received by the public, I decided to go and see it. And I was certainly not disappointed. The movie has real depth, and alot of thought was put into the plot development.It tells the story of a young waitress in some hick town in the deep south, who is married to a man she doesn't love.Her life is lacklustre except for her only passion: making pies,which she does really well. Her plan is to set aside some money and then run away and leave her husband, but becoming unexpectedly pregnant sets off several events that allow her to start her life anew, in a very unexpected (and very moving) way . It's a really positive, upbeat film with a real life affirming message. It saddens me that such a young talented film maker and actress (Shelly who also plays one of the waitresses in the movie) should have died so young, but her last contribution, this movie is beautiful and significant and won't be forgotten!

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12 out of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Dissapointing

A Customer from Leeds, 12th February, 2008

This film was rubbish. Really boring and predictable. Me and my best friend were expecting a well written, interesting and engaging film. It was none of these. If i wasn't so tight, i would've left the cinema, it was that bad.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Waitress - Another ‘nothing’ film - too simple and contrived to be entertaining.

A Customer from Wales, 9th May, 2008

Unhappy marriage (with miscast and unlikely characters) prompts pie making expert and waitress yearn for a pie championship, and in the process submitting to husband’s advances, gets pregnant and has an affair with her Doctor - that is it!! Contrived and unlikely with characters that are all larger than life and blended without care or compatibility. Some may say ‘sweet’, in parts, but overall quite pointless and shallow - in short a NOTHING film.

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Very good viewing

A Customer from Musselburgh, 3rd May, 2008

Want a Friday night flick that lets you end the week on a good note ....see this one.

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Waitress

ValleyJohn from , 8th March, 2008

Waitress is not really my kind of movie . I would not normally review this type of film but having recently read a news article about the writer and director Adrienne Shelly i felt compelled to see it.

On November the 1st 2006 , Adrienne Shelly was murdered in her New York apartment by a construction worker. At first, her death was reported as a suicide but later 19 year old Diego Pillco confessed to her murder and was later given 25 years in prison.

As a favorite waitress at Joe's Diner, Jenna is also a 'pie genius,' naming her tantalizing confections after the tumultuous events and emotions of her daily life. She's hoping that one of her pastries, like her 'Kick In The Pants' Pie, might even change her life--if she can just win that $25,000 pie contest. But when Jenna discovers that she's pregnant, she immediately bakes an 'I Don't Want Earl's Baby' Pie--a quiche of egg and cheese with a smoked ham center. After all, her husband Earl is a jealous jerk that is essentially a child himself, and the last thing they need to do is start a family together. But the pregnancy eventually changes the course of events in her life, giving her an unexpected and new found confidence via letters to her unborn baby.

Waitress is not the most polished of movies. It's continuity is a little off and the acting is a little amateurish at times but all this adds to the quirkyness of what is a wonderful movie that is a moving , heart warming , feel good film that i'm sure Adrienne Shelly would have been immensely proud off .

Because of the tragic circumstances surrounding this film you cant help but feel immensely sad at some of the scenes involving Shelly . How could a 40 year old talented woman lose her her life to a petty thief , it makes me angry thinking about it.


The characters in waitress are larger than life . I loved the Pie store owner Old Joe who always had a little twinkle in his eye , the poetic , Ogie who had a strangely familiar face that i could not put my finger on and even nasty Earl had his moments where you thought , he ain't all that bad .

I definitely think this is a movie that needs a couple of viewings to fully take in and appreciate what a delightful little film this is . A film that was sadly Adrienne Shelly's last.

8 out of 10

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