A delicious little movie that will have you savoring every tasty morsel.
Waitress (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:142
Rotten:18
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Sweet, smart, and quirky, Waitress hits the right, bittersweet notes through this romantic comedy through its witty script and a superb performance by Keri Russell.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for language, drug use and some sexual content
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:10-08-2007
Synopsis: An audience hit at the Sundance Film Festival, WAITRESS serves up a sweet, sassy and delicious slice of life tale -- as it reveals the power of friendship, motherhood and the willingness to take a... An audience hit at the Sundance Film Festival, WAITRESS serves up a sweet, sassy and delicious slice of life tale -- as it reveals the power of friendship, motherhood and the willingness to take a chance. It's the story of a small town woman who transforms her hopeless life into a hilarious and unexpected love story. This vibrantly different romantic comedy is the final film from writer-director Adrienne Shelly. Starring in the title role, Keri Russell (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3, THE UPSIDE OF ANGER) leads a dynamic cast as a diner waitress stuck in a lousy marriage whose only solace is baking out-of-this-world pies. When the awkwardly charming new OB-GYN, Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion, SERINITY), comes to town, she's inspired to mix-master her life into something far more satisfying. WAITRESS will surely do for pie making what SIDEWAYS did for Pinot Noir. As a favorite waitress at Joe's Diner, Jenna (Russell) 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 (Jeremy Sisto, THIRTEEN, SIX FEET UNDER) 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 newfound confidence via letters to her unborn baby. WAITRESS also stars Emmy® nominee Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm," RV) and Adrienne Shelly (THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, TRUST) as Jenna's quick-tongued fellow waitresses along with classic television star Andy Griffith ("The Andy Griffith Show," "Matlock") as the curmudgeonly Old Joe of Joe's Diner. Fox Searchlight presents a Night and Day production of WAITRESS, written and directed by Adrienne Shelly. The producer is Michael Roiff and the executive producers are Todd King, Jeff Rose, Danielle Renfrew and Robert Bauer. The behind-the-scenes talent includes director of photography Matthew Irving (WAITING, DALTRY CALHOUN, NORTHFORK), production designer Ramsay Avery (TEAM AMERICA), editor Annette Davey (SORRY, HATERS) and composer Andrew Hollander (GRAY MATTERS). --© Fox Searchlight Pictures [More]
Starring: Keri Russell, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Nathan Fillion
Starring: Keri Russell, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Nathan Fillion, Andy Griffith, Eddie Jemison
Director: Adrienne Shelly
Director: Adrienne Shelly
Screenwriter: Adrienne Shelly
Producer: Michael Roiff
Composer: Andrew Hollander
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Reviews for Waitress
Inconsistent overtones lean precariously close to cute yet manage to surge both poignant and wistful.
Bittersweet, lovely, sad, funny - and then we begin to mourn Adrienne Shelly's candle, snuffed too soon. A good bet for your dollar.
While Shelly's film trades in an especially outrageous form of girl-movie self-consciousness, she's completely sincere when it comes to making her heroine the irresistible repository of our sympathies.
Waitress deserves an essay, not just a review. There are perfect moments that stand out, and the reasons for their perfection are interesting.
Waitress has a sneaky way of sorting this all out. It also has an undeniably good heart, and it's hard to dislike a movie that makes room for a neglected American original like Andy Griffith.
It's weird to write that a movie chock-full of adultery, stalking, spousal abuse and hatred of the unborn is the feel-good comedy of the summer.
As satisfying and tasty as the pies baked with love (and sometimes hate, anger and frustration) by Jenna, a small-town waitress stuck in an abusive marriage.
Waitress is a pastel-coloured fairytale about love and pie-baking. And fresh choices.
You'll also walk away with a rekindled admiration for Sisto, a yearning to see Hines do more indie work and a painful pang that director Shelly, who was murdered in Manhattan last year, won't be making any more movies this good -- or at all.
So why does it work, at least much of the time? Because of Russell, and because Shelly's uneven tone also provides hints at brilliance.
Look, Waitress is no groundbreaker, and it's not likely to change anyone's life. But it provides a showcase for Russell, who knows how to make the most of it.
How ironic that woman who was the victim of such bad fortune and terrible cruelty would leave the world such a generous parting gift.
We can only take comfort in the little slice of heaven she left behind.
Waitress isn't a great film, but it is great, deep-dish fun, with a generosity of spirit that extends first to the sisters on the screen and in the audience, then to the rest of humanity.
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