Review of Waitress (2007) by Sean E — 11 Dec 2009

Waitress is an indie with the heart of a TV show. While the story is a complete tale of a reluctant mother, the quirkiness of the characters would translate well into a series. If you can accept the eccentric, boob-tube feel of this flick, it may offer a scrumptious morsel of feel-good, flippant pie.

Jenna (Felicity's Keri Russel) is married to a horrible man, Earl (6 Feet Under's Jeremy Sisto), and is recently pregnant with his child. Earl is a disastrous husband, who sincerely requests Jenna won't love the baby more than him once it is born. Jenna works as a waitress at a local diner, where she makes popular and inventive pies. Each pie has a telling, emotional name like, "Falling in Love Chocolate Mousse Pie." Every recipe has its own mouthwatering scene that illustrates how to make each of them.

The movie is riddled with TV actors: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Jeremy Sisto, Eddie Jemison, and TV's thoroughbred, Matlock (Andy Griffith). TV actors tend to produce TV-caliber acting, and though some of them have film experience, their performances never quite lose the feel of the small screen.

Writer/director Adrienne Shelly never penned a TV show. The highlights of her career began and ended with independent film. And yet this film has an undeniable Gilmore Girls flavour. Characters have quirky diction, and a playful outlook on serious situations.

It's tragic that Shelly was murdered before receiving the news the film was admitted to Sundance. Her film received critical praise, won accolades, and grossed ten times its investment worldwide. Her successful recipe (two parts strawberry imagination, a cup of romantic hilarity, mixed with caramelized affection) proved a charming indication of a promising talent.