Waitress (2007)

Director:

Adrienne Shelly

Writer:

Adrienne Shelly (written by)

Release Date:

25 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

If only life were as easy as pie.

Plot:

Jenna is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness.

Plot Keywords:

Waitress | Doctor | Diner | Pregnancy | Affair

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Keri Russell	...	Jenna Hunterson
Nathan Fillion	...	Dr. Jim Pomatter
Cheryl Hines	...	Becky
Jeremy Sisto	...	Earl Hunterson
Andy Griffith	...	Old Joe
Adrienne Shelly	...	Dawn
Eddie Jemison	...	Ogie
Lew Temple	...	Cal
Darby Stanchfield	...	Francine Pomatter
Heidi Sulzman	...	Exhausted Mother
Lauri Johnson	...	Nurse Norma
Sarah Hunley	...	Dr. Lily Mueller
Cindy Drummond	...	Hospital Nurse
Nathan Dean	...	Minister
Caroline Fogarty	...	Doctor's Assistant

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:12 | Germany:6 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-7 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

The Halfway House Cafe, Saugus, California, USA

Company:

Night and Day Pictures

Trivia:

The idea for the five minute date Dawn (Adrienne Shelly) goes on was inspired by Adrienne's experience with them years earlier.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the wedding procession, Jenna appears NOT to be wearing her "pregnancy bump". later when she is dancing with Joe, it is all too obvious.

Quotes:

Jenna: Cal, I'm pregnant.
Cal: Yeah. I knew that. I thought everyone knew.
Jenna: You're not mad?
Cal: Hell, as long as you can carry a pie tray and bus a table I don't care if you give birth while doing it.

Movie Connections:

References Modern Times (1936)

Soundtrack:

NO ONE IS TO BLAME

Funny and touching

Waitress is a great, funny movie starring Keri Russell as a small-town waitress who discovers that she's pregnant just as she's planning to leave her jealous, controlling husband. The typical Hollywood approach for a movie like this would be to film it in ultra-serious "movie of the week" mode, but writer/director/actor Adrienne Shelly chose to tell her story in an extremely stylized, almost fairy-tale style. The stylized dialogue, super-sharp photography and primary-color palette even reminded me of the movies of Joel & Ethan Coen at times, but in the end, this movie packs an emotional punch that the Coen brothers have rarely achieved. It also features a brilliant (and brilliantly human) performance by Andy Griffith as the horny old geezer who owns the diner where Russell works.

This movie has a good chance at achieving a Little Miss Sunshine-style breakout this year. It's funny, quirky and honestly touching. Waitress stands as a fine legacy for Adrienne Shelly, but if things had been different, it could have been the movie that launched her into the mainstream instead of her swan song.