How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 28 July 2007
This article is a review of WAITRESS. |
“Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight and that's all they do. They don't pull away. They don't look at your face. They don't try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight, without an ounce of selfishness to it,” Jenna
This year we can’t seem to get away from food at the movies. We have Pixar’s Paris-set RATATOUILLE and Catherine Zeta Jones/Aaron Eckhart in chef-romantic-comedy-drama NO RESERVATIONS. WAITRESS joins them as one of those summer indie highlights like GARDEN STATE, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
This year we can’t seem to get away from food at the movies. We have Pixar’s Paris-set RATATOUILLE and Catherine Zeta Jones/Aaron Eckhart in chef-romantic-comedy-drama NO RESERVATIONS. WAITRESS joins them as one of those summer indie highlights like GARDEN STATE, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
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WAITRESS may appear on its glazed surface to be a mass processed bitter-sweet comedy, but there is more going on than its typical genre fare.
Keri Russell’s Jenna is a gifted pie-maker (both savoury and sweet, a reference perhaps to the flavour of the film), whose self-worth and joie de vivre have taken a pummelling by her abusive, possessive, jealous and self-obsessed husband. A good-looking couple, you can imagine were high-school sweet-hearts; but once married he changed and trapped her through fear. The film is an astute look at the way men can treat women, and how after the Suffragettes and Feminism the lot of women can still be unjust and trying.
Happiness is snatched from the jaws of despair by the new doctor in town, Pomatter (Nathan Fillion, who is proving to be a charming leading man – see FIREFLY/SERENITY and SLITHER). Jenna is gradually galvanised by all the changes going on in her life.
Dr. Pomatter has flaws, like all the men in the film. This does not seem to be a man-hating movie however, more a wake-up call for both genders; as well as a celebration of pies.
The cast and writing were believable and juicy. WAITRESS had the tone spot on; juggling drama and comedy ain’t easy. (By the way, make sure you’re not hungry before you hit the cinema.)
We have selected movies below that we think will be of interest to you based on this review.
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