Keri Russell stars as Jenna, a waitress and master pie maker who finds herself pregnant while trapped in a bad marriage. Trying to save up enough coin to leave her louse of a husband (Jeremy Sisto), she wants to enter a pie contest with a prize that will afford her the opportunity of leaving him for good. However, the undesired and unwanted pregnancy has put a speed bump in her path to potential happiness. Then there is the matter of the cure new doctor that has taken a shine to her and her to him. This could be her last chance to be happy.
We watch Jenna stuck in her loveless marriage, and has sucked out any desire for romantic affection, long hours for an ungrateful boss, and a pregnancy that is anything but wanted. Sounds like it would be a downer of a movie right? Wrong. The production design is brightly colored and the fictional town is populated, for the most part with nice people that would be good to spend time with. She works with Becky (Cheryl Hines) who has a romantic entanglement that she is keeping secret, and Dawn, a girl with low self esteem who has attracted the attentions of a weasly suitor (Eddie Jemison). The three have formed a support group for each other to get throught the tough times.
The movie is a light hearted affair that deals with adultery, unhappiness, and pregnancy in its bright colored apron. All of the characters are great. Keri Russell brings an earthy sweetness to the role of Jenna. Nathan Fillion shows again just how good of an actor he is, stepping away from the smart alec captain of Serenity and into the awkward shoes of the new town doc. Andy Griffith has a supporting role as the owner of the pie shop where Jenna works, he appears as a surly old man, but Jenna knows better, beneath the gruff exterior is a heart of gold.
Waitress was written and directed by Adrienne Shelley and is a confectionary treat, she brings a lot of life to the screen in what is one of the top feel good movies of the year. She also co-starred as the mousey Dawn. That also makes this a sad film to watch, Shelley was murdered late last year. In November of 2006, Ms. Shelley was found murdered in her New York City apartment, days before she would receive the letter accepting the film to Sundance. I found that it cast a bit of a pall over what was otherwise a great experience at the movies.
Bottomline. This is a fantastic film, it has a nice poetic pace as it moves its way through Jenna's life. The performances are first rate, and the script has a lot of fun. In short, it is the kind of movie that you can just have a truly nice time with. Is it plausible? The story is, but the way it plays out is more of a fairy tale of female empowerment.
Highly Recommended.
0 comments:
Post a Comment