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"Keri Russell
Serves a Plate of
Charming & a Side of
Gorgeous!" |
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Directed by Adrienne
Shelly - Written by
Adrienne Shelly
Starring Keri Russell,
Nathan Fillion, Cheryl
Hines, Adrienne Shelly
Eddie Jemison with
Jeremy Sisto, Andy
Griffith
Distributed by Fox
Searchlight -
2007 - 104m - Rated PG13 |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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A- |
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Have you ever watched a film that left you not knowing whether to
laugh or cry? |
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"Waitress," the latest
and last film from actress/filmmaker Adrienne Shelly, is such a
film. "Waitress" is a romantic, spirited, innocent and beautiful
film flavored ever-so lightly by sprinklings of tragedy, pain, loss
and uncertainty.
In essence, "Waitress" is one of those rare films that truly mirrors
the way most of us live our lives.
Starring Keri Russell as Jenna, a beautiful, sweet and caring young
waitress married to Earl (Jeremy Sisto), an abusive, controlling and
uncomfortably childish man whose demeaning ways have squashed nearly
every single one of Jenna's dreams. Jenna's only escape is her pie
baking, masterful creations that she concocts each and everyday in
the pie shop where she works alongside Dawn (a delightfully mousy
Adrienne Shelly) and Becky (Cheryl Hines) along with the shop's
owner, Cal (Eddie Jemison) and the shop's owner, Joe (Andy
Griffith).
When Jenna ends up pregnant after Earl gets her drunk one night so
that she'll have sex with him, all hope is seemingly lost for ever
escaping from this abusive marriage. Jenna's seemingly ordinary life
is, however, thrown into even more disarray when she falls in love
with her OB-GYN (Nathan Fillion), a peaceful yet equally
dysfunctional relationship that is a mere band-aid on a gaping
wound. Facing an unwanted child, an unhappy marriage and a life of
uncertainty, Jenna escapes even deeper into her masterful pastry
creations.
Moreso than in any of her previous films, "Waitress" is clearly
influenced by Shelly's early work as an actress on two of Hal
Hartley's films, "Trust" and "The Unbelievable Truth." Hartley's a
master of capturing onscreen the darkly humorous side of everyday
life in ways that both defy filmmaking logic and yet more accurately
reflect the complexities of simply living from day to day.
So, too, Shelly offers up "Waitress," a beautiful gem of a film that
simultaneously brings to mind the old television series, "Alice"
while also throwing in memories of not so distant films such as "Chocolat,"
"Amelie" and even a touch of "Junebug."
"Waitress" is similar in tone to recent hit "Little Miss Sunshine,"
but has even more in common with the underrated, nearly impossible
to market "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" in the sense that
both films mix together a surprisingly degree of hopefulness even as
logical tells us that hope is nowhere to be found.
Can Jenna possibly find the happiness that seemingly eludes her? Or
will she be trapped forever in a loveless, abusive marriage? The
dilemma is made particularly poignant when realizing that Shelly
herself was murdered November 1, 1996 and this film, her last, is
one of 2007's most powerful and beautiful statements on breaking
cycles, innocence, violence and, yes, the constant presence of hope.
As wonderful as "Waitress" is, it's hard to deny that the similarity
to "Alice" is, at times, distracting as the entire restaurant crew
seems an exact replication of Alice, Vera, Flo and Mel. Yet,
Shelly's intelligent and sensitive script contains such wonderfully
tender and realistic dialogue that by the film's end "Waitress" has
truly become its own film.
While other actresses may have more successfully captured the
intensity and gravity of "Waitress," it's hard to picture an actress
other than Russell so beautifully blending the drama, desperation,
hopefulness, sweetness and sensuality of her character. Largely due
to Russell's largely understated and balanced performance, Jenna
became a woman I was rooting for and found myself cringing each and
every time she made another bad decision...by the end, it's
practically impossible to not look up at the screen and practically
plead "Please. Oh Please. Let her end up happy."
Jeremy Sisto, likewise, is utterly frightening (as he should be) as
the abusive, controlling and yet remarkably immature Earl. It would
have been easy, especially in a film such as this one, to turn Earl
into nothing more than a caricature. Sisto, wisely, brings out
Earl's true humanity and a stunning depth of flawed character.
Perhaps moreso than at any recent point in a film with a domestic
violence theme, "Waitress" truly captures the answer to why women
stay with abusive spouses.
In supporting roles, Shelly leaves a beautiful mark on the cinematic
world with her sensitive and funny portrayal of Dawn, while, Cheryl
Hines brings a hilarious humanity to the brash Becky, who has an
affair of her own. Finally, Andy Griffith is a perfect anchor for
the film as the persnickety Joe, a man whose kindness and compassion
is masked behind irritability galore (think a more "down home"
version of Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets").
"Waitress" is a happy film.
No, wait. "Waitress" is a sad film.
Sigh.
"Waitress" is a beautifully designed, tenderly written and
sensitively acted film about the bitter and sweet moments of daily
life. With insight and humor, Adrienne Shelly's cinematic swansong
is, much like Jenna's pies, a masterful creation you will not
forget.
"Waitress" captured the Audience Award for Best Feature during the
2007 Indianapolis International Film Festival, where the film played
just 2 days before its limited opening in New York and Los Angeles
before going nationwide on Mother's Day weekend.
This weekend, while the rest of the world sees "Spider-Man 3," do
yourself a favor and see the best film being served up this
weekend..."Waitress." |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
Email Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
When she
starred in "Felicity", I would have bet my
bottom dollar that she was going to be the next
Meg Ryan. It never quite turned out that way...
but hopefully this movie will help get her some
more good parts.
Jacob Hall's
Comment
n/a
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