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Movie Review - Waitress (2007)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Adrienne Shelly |
| Starring: |
Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Griffith, and Adrienne Shelly |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for sexual content, language and thematic elements) |
| Length: |
107 minutes |
| Genre: |
Romantic Comedy |
| Tagline: |
If only life were as easy as pie. |
| Studio: |
Fox Searchlight |
| Website: |
Waitress |
| Release: |
May 25, 2007 |
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PLOT
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Jenna (Russell) is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the Deep South who finds joy in the pies that she bakes. When a new doctor
(Fillion) arrives in town, they fall into an unlikely (and ill-advised) relationship. Two married folk engaging in an adulterous
relationship in a small town - not the greatest of ideas. But what's a girl to do when this could possibly be her last chance at
happiness? Pies ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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"Making a Quirky and Original Comedy that Could Become a Chick Flick Classic" Pie. Endearing characters and
performances over a cute screenplay. No crust...well, except for the octogenarian Andy Griffith and his
curmudgeonly ways!
Sometimes all I can do is just sit back and bask in my cleverness.
All right, guys, I know what you're thinking - "A movie about an unhappy Southern waitress who names pies
after certain events in her life? Can you just shoot me in the head instead?" I thought the same thing
walking into the screening. But you know what? It ain't half bad. And as I just proved above, it can
actually be quite clever. Well, OK, maybe I proved the exact opposite, but I think my point got through no
matter the case. It's not exactly a must-see on the big screen, but there's a good chance you'll walk away
with a few more laughs than expected.
Before I get to the meat of my review (oh dear, now I'm doing it!), I have to address something that
grates on my nerves like a Jim Breuer "comedy" routine. Can we stop relying on stupid cooking puns to
critique this film? If I read one more review stating "Waitress serves up a nice slice of..." or
"Waitress is a delicious concoction that's just a tad overcooked!" then I'll personally start hunting
down critics and will subject them to all-night Corey Feldman marathons. Any "easy as pie" references will
force me to break out advanced copies of The Two Coreys. JUST STOP IT ALREADY! *takes deep breath*
Now that that's out of the way...
One thing that you'll notice is that the film's got a weird vibe to it. Maybe it's just the fact that I was
raised with good old-fashioned values, but I had trouble summoning the lack of conscience to root for an
adulterous relationship between two married people, one of which is pregnant, the other who is her doctor.
Sure, her husband is a pig (though that doesn't really excuse adultery), but Dr. Pottamer's wife appears
to be nothing less than a loving, doting wife.
Ah well, it's a movie, right? I'm sure you'll tell me to get over myself. Whatever. It's my review and
I'll nitpick if I want to. I also felt there were moments that were a little too over-the-top and
hokey, even if intentionally so. I honestly expected Flo from Alice to show up looking to give Mel
a piece of her mind. But I understand what writer/director Adrienne Shelly was going for, so it didn't
bother me all that much.
I'll give you a fair warning - don't see this on an empty stomach. I hadn't eaten supper prior to the
screening, and during the film's opening scene, a cruel little montage of several delicious-looking pies
being prepared, I was about to die.
There's always something to be said for projects that attempt something different, something original. It's
refreshing. As refreshing as a cold glass of milk with a warm piece of ... ARRRRRRGH!!!!!! NOT ME TOO!!!!!
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ODDS & ENDS
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- "I wrote WAITRESS when I was about eight months pregnant, and I was really scared about the idea of having a baby," Shelly explained. "I couldn't imagine how my
life was going to be, that it would change so drastically that I wasn't even going to recognize myself anymore. I was terrified and I really had never seen that
reflected in anything, not in a book or in a movie."
- Shelly said she set out to make a film "that roots for people who do the right thing. I really like putting that sort of thing out into the world." She also stated:
"Ultimately, WAITRESS is a love letter to my baby, Sophie."
- Shelly's then 22 month-old daughter, Sophie, plays Jenna's infant in the climactic scenes of the film.
- For Shelly, the pies always had to be front and center. "I love baking pies and I think that's why I really wanted to give the film a sort of sensuality connected
with food," she said.
- More than 200 individual pies were baked for the film.
- Johnny loves pies. His main weaknesses include anything with chocolate and cheesecake. Presenting him with a Lady Godiva chocolate cheesecake is a good strategy to
entrap him in a hypnotic state.
- Many of the confections, such as the sinful banana chocolate pie from the opening credits, provided an end-of-the-day indulgence for the crew. But, unfortunately,
they didn't all come out tasting as wonderful as they looked. Regarding the spaghetti pie, producer Michael Roiff discloses, "It was so bad, poor Jeremy Sisto could
barely swallow it to complete the scene."
- Although they brought in a "Pie Consultant" for the luscious end spread (which required around 50 pies alone), most of the desserts in the film were constructed by
Adrienne Shelly herself, along with Roiff and their props department.
- Johnny wants to be a "Pie Consultant" when he grows up. As long as it means eating them rather than baking them. The latter is a woman's job.
- Johnny anticipates the emails to roll in regarding the above statement.
- Tragically, Shelly was murdered in November of 2006, before she even had been informed that her dream had come true and WAITRESS had been
accepted to the Sundance Film Festival.
- Keri Russell was in Into the West with mega-star Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Overall, it's the sexual content that makes this inappropriate for mama and pre-teens.
Sexual Content - There is no nudity, but we see Nathan Fillion and Keri Russell engaging in adulterous sex. There's also a scene with Jeremy Sisto on top of Keri,
having his way with her ... for about 10 seconds.
Language - I really don't remember the language being that bad. There was one f-bomb, but other than that I don't recall any "non-network TV" profanity.
Thematic Elements - I still have no idea what this is within the context of a PG-13 rating.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer does a good job of embracing the personality of the film. If the trailer turns you off then it's best you skip it or save
it for a rental.
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THE GIST
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Ladies will love it and the guys forced to go see it will likely enjoy it more than they expect to.
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