With Waitress, Adrienne Shelly tamed and shaped realism, finding a perfect, difficult-to-achieve balance of enchantment and plausibility.
Waitress (2007)
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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
Genial and appealing...Keri Russell essays a heroine that is worth rooting for and caring about.
There are times when the spirit of a movie is enough to get you gliding over its obvious flaws. Waitress, which was directed by the late Adrienne Shelly, is one of those pictures.
The movie finds a real hook in Jenna, and a real elegance in its simple, direct message: take look at the choices you've made, and start making the right ones. Start fresh. It's never too late.
Shelly's death makes me want to treat this movie with kid gloves, to root for it, turn it into something more than it is.
Its heart is absolutely in the right place, and it strikes some real emotional truths. It will make you laugh, it might even make you cry, but it definitely will make you hungry.
A longtime indie favorite as an actress, Shelly was really growing as a filmmaker. This is a very good film with a terrific performance from Keri Russell.
There's something spunky about those pies and there's something spunky about Waitress in general.
An overstuffed, overcooked pie -- too ungainly to eat all of, too generous to pass up, too heartbreaking to contemplate for long.
This tale of a pregnant small-town woman caught between a bad marriage and a risky affair is mostly as funny and charming as intended.
Good-hearted, well-made comedy that will hopefully lead a broader audience to find the work [director Shelly] left behind as her legacy.
It's the kind of sly, witty independent gem that rolls through every few years, lighting up crowds and forcing men to admit they were wrong when they thought they were being dragged to another chick flick.
If 'Waitress,' like 'Alice,' is sitcomish, then let's hear it for sitcoms. The pic is a delight from start to finish.
It's impossible to ignore the tragic fact that last November, at age forty, Shelly was murdered. It is some solace, though, to know that Waitress is her buoyant legacy.
Comedy and tragedy exist side-by-side in this drab little film, suggesting an SNL alum's reinterpretation of the TV show Alice.
Does what a great romantic comedy should do: steal your heart and send you on your way rejoicing. One of the best films of the year.
A superb turn from Kerri Russell and a strong one from Nathan Fillion compensate for some of the cloying sentiment and Southern condescension of the last film of Adrienne Shelly, whose tragic death last year abrupted the career of a promising artist.
I loved this movie. Loved every last character, twist, kiss, joke and pie found within it.
If Waitress was one of Jenna's pies, it would be a sky-high lemon meringue -- light, airy, not too sweet, with a tart, satisfying filling.
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