WAITRESS

Director: Adrienne Shelly
Cast: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelly, Jeremy Sisto,
Andy Griffith
Runtime: 107 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English
Rating: PG (sexually suggestive scenes; violence; coarse language)

Reviews: www.metacritic.com/film/titles/waitress

Adrienne Shelly might be better remembered as an actress from many popular television series and independent films than as a director. In WAITRESS, a warm, quirky dramedy which she wrote, directed and in which she plays a supporting role – and which premiered to great acclaim at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival – she shows the full breadth of her talent. Jenna, the eponymous waitress, is played to perfection by the endearing Keri Russell (“Felicity,” THE UPSIDE OF ANGER). Jenna works in a

diner that serves as a hub of her small town’s social activity. Her modest but intriguing claim to fame is the diverse array of delectable pies that she bakes daily and which reflect her feelings about her life, which is well on the way to spiraling out of control.

Jenna has just found out that she’s pregnant, but her marriage is not working out, to say the least. Her marital problems are fodder for much conversation at the diner, where Jenna vents to her friends and fellow waitresses Becky (Cheryl Hines, “Curb Your Enthusiasm, CAKE, KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS) and Dawn (played by Shelly). Jenna’s husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto, “Six Feet Under,” IN MEMORY OF MY FATHER), is an infantile, sexist brute with whom Jenna can hardly imagine raising a baby. Soon, Jenna finds herself romantically entangled with the new local OB/GYN, Dr. Pomatter (TV actor Nathan Fillion), which certainly doesn’t make her life any easier or the decisions she must make about her future any more simple. Tragically, Adrienne Shelly was murdered last November. With WAITRESS, she crafted her most engaging and heartwarming film, one that surely announced the maturation of her directing career. WAITRESS is full of magic moments: Russell is perfectly cast as the irresistibly charming

Jenna, and the smart, moving script and meticulous direction show the hand of an accomplished storyteller. The kind of film that leaves a long, lingering and sweet impression, WAITRESS is a universally compelling gem.

"This sweetheart of a comedy boasts a hilarious and heartfelt performance by Keri Russell…." – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"The film is a revelation, and the revelation is of an important and unique talent coming into magnificent bloom. Shelly was not just someone who happened to make a likable little movie. Like the film itself, she was seriously good, and her tragic and almost unthinkably sad murder was an incalculable loss." – Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

 

Fall 2007 Film Schedule Sept 10 - Introducing the Dwights Sept 24 - Golden Door Oct 8 - Once Oct 22 - Evening Nov 12 - White Masai Nov 26 - Waitress Dec 10 - Vitus