Waitress stars Keri Russell as Jenna, a waitress living in a dead-end town in deep south America who gets pregnant by her abusive husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto, of Six Feet Under fame). Her emotions are expressed through the amazing pies she makes, all of which have names drawing directly on her experience, such as the snappily named 'Earl Murders Me Because I'm Having An Affair Pie... You smash blackberries and raspberries into a chocolate crust.' The pregnancy is something Jenna is ambivalent about, as she is desperate to leave her overbearing husband and the baby threatens to throw a spanner in the works of her escape plan. Throw an affair with her doctor (Nathan Fillion, who also played a gynaecologist in Desperate Housewives, what a weird acting niche to have found) in the mix and you have the foundations of a very quirky and bittersweet comedy.
The movie is suffused with poignancy given that its writer and director Adrienne Shelly was killed before it was released, leaving behind a young child and husband. The closing scene in particular, featuring Shelly's little girl, is a really emotional moment. The love Jenna feels for her newborn baby, after months of pregnant confusion, is conveyed tenderly by Russell and made me cry buckets. Shelly herself gives a winning performance as one of Jenna's waitress friends Dawn, with Curb Your Enthusiasm's Cheryl Hines playing Jenna's other friend and co-worker Becky. The three have a delightful chemistry which is really enjoyable to watch - the make over Jenna gives Dawn is a lovely moment as it encapsulates the succor each woman gives the other and is a great presentation of female friendship. The direction is equally engaging, full of colour and attention to detail - it might just be the waitress thing, but it really reminded me of Amelie. There is a great deal of kookiness to the picture and its tone and script reminded me of My Name is Earl or Pushing Daisies, filled as it is with the incongruous and zany, yet all the time full of heart. There are a few misjudged moments which are more intense, wandering into much darker territory and threatening to engulf its claim on our hearts as a purely uplifting movie. Earl is, after all, horrible. But what you ultimately remember about this movie is its inherent sweetness and power to move you to both laughter and tears. It could easily have been made into a TV series given its format and similarity to other such fare and I suspect it would have done well. It is a great shame that Shelly did not live to make another movie or to hear the praise which Waitress so deserves. I really recommend this movie and am subsequently rather tempted to make some of the pies.
I didn't realise you'd never seen this! I adore this film and definitely agree that it's in the same mould as Amelie and Pushing Daisies -
we must share a taste for the whimsical and darkly humorous :) It's incredibly sad about Adrienne Shelly and her tragic death does add poignancy to the film, though I think it would be just as affecting without that context. Glad you enjoyed it!
Posted by: Sarah B | May 04, 2009 at 04:21 PM