Dr. DVD Review: Waitress
Posted by Ben Moser on 11.21.2007
A movie about finding happiness. And pies.
Keri Russell ... Jenna
Nathan Fillion ... Dr. Pomatter
Cheryl Hines ... Becky
Jeremy Sisto ... Earl
Andy Griffith ... Old Joe
Adrienne Shelly ... Dawn
Eddie Jemison ... Ogie
Lew Temple ... Cal
Chick Flick. Those two words kept me from watching this movie for the longest time. I had friends tell me that they enjoyed this flick, friends I trusted...but I stalled, because Waitress is a chick flick no matter how fascinated I was by the trailer. I was dumb.
This movie is delightful, whimsical, funny, and heartbreaking all at the same time; and no matter how many conventions it borrows from the chick flick catalogue, it is a beautiful movie. All the time I spent not watching it based on a couple of words was entirely wasted.
Keri Russell is Jenna, who opens the movie finding out that her heinously terrible husband(Jeremy Sisto) knocked her up pretty good after getting her drunk. She's broken, sad, and wants to get away and make pies - delicious pies. The pies are the window to her soul. She comes up with them as life happens around her, and they are universally beloved. The baby complicates things, and she retreats into an affair with her new doctor to cope. So there's the plot. This movie isn't actually about any of that. This movie is about people looking for,and eventually finding, what makes them happy in the last place they would ever look. It's a fairy tale.
Russell's performance is fantastic and really stands out, which is surprising because I'd never really considered Keri Russell that great an actress. It's even more surprising because everyone around her also turn in brilliant performances.
Nathan Fillion as the awkward and genuine Dr. Pomatter gives a quiet nervousness that's so different from anything else I've ever seen him in. But there's so much more to the character, and Fillion nails all of that, too. He's conflicted, in love, and kind...none of it goes unnoticed. The counter to him is Jeremy Sisto as Earl, the comically horrible husband. Sisto manages to bring so much humanity to a character that, by all rights, should have been a no-depth caricature. Of course, even the leading men's performances are given a run from the supporting cast.
How about we start with Andy Griffith as the grumpy Old Joe? I mean, try to imagine him of all people abusing the wait staff of a little pie restaurant. It's funny and, because he's Andy Griffith, it betrays the sweet old man who lives underneath it all. Then there's Eddie Jemison as Ogie, the dorky man with a crush who writes spontaneous poetry. He's just creepy enough while still being sweet enough that we can eventually buy his development without thinking about it.
But even those supporting performances are just the tip of the iceberg. Adrienne Shelly and Cheryl Hines are hilarious as Jenna's friends and fellow waitresses. I honestly cannot say enough about how wonderful the performances, particularly from the always-hilarious and perfect Hines, are. Anytime you see one or the both of them onscreen, they steal the scene.
As good as Shelly is as Dawn, she's even better behind the camera. None of the supporting characters needed to be so thoroughly developed. They could have been dropped in for comic relief and/or nuggets of wisdom and this would have still likely been a perfectly servicable chick flick. It's the fact that the characters are so carefully developed that sets Shelly's movie apart. That, and a really strong choice at the end of the script that so many wouldn't have made.
It's really hard to talk about this script and the direction without mentioning just how much the film world lost with Adrienne Shelly's death. This movie is so great, and to think that it could have been a launch pad for so much more is saddening and frustrating. There was so much right with this movie that she could have built on this effort as a writer, director, and actress. It's really a shame, and I find it hard to write any more than that about it.
Extras:
Commentary by Producer Michael Roiff and Keri Russell: This is actually a pretty light and fun commentary as Roiff and Russell genuinely enjoy themselves reminiscing about the making of the movie and Adrienne Shelly. What they want you to know, as if it didn't show enough in the film, is that this was Shelly's movie and she knew exactly what she wanted out of every bit of it. A surprisingly above-average commentary.
This is How We Made Waitress Pie: Interviews with the folks involved in the making of the flick. Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff, where they explain everything about the movie just in case you missed it and tell a few anecdotes for good measure.
Written and Directed by Adrienne Shelly: A Memorial: Another reminder about the talent that was lost. I feel kind of awful that I'm only looking at it as the loss of a talent rather than a life, but it speaks volumes to how good this movie is and it's echoed in every interview on this featurette.
Hi! I'm Keri. I'll Be Your Waitress: Lots about the character of Jenna and Russell's portrayal of her. Also, lots more on Adrienne Shelly's directing style and writing ability.
The Pies Have It!: The actors talk pie. Their favorites, and what the film's pies meant to the narrative. Kinda fun, but ultimately only worth checking out once.
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character With Keri Russell: Need more stuff about Russell and Jena? Look no further. Nothing in here that isn't in the "making of" featurette or the "Hi! I'm Keri" section.
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character With Cheryl Hines: You want evidence that the supporting characters were given a huge amount of depth? Give this a watch. Hines needs to be in more things. Like, now.
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character With Nathan Fillion: He's constantly surprised by what Shelly was looking for out of this character. Pretty interesting to watch, actually.
The 411: Waitress is an absolutely wonderful movie that you'd be a fool to miss out on. The script is strong, but the performances are nearly flawless from top to bottom. Easily one of the best movies of the year. The extras are really repetitive if watched all together, but that's so minor a complaint when compared to the main feature that it barely deserves mention.
