“Waitress”: A Movie With a Heart in the Middle
I saw Waitress this week, which stars Keri Russell as Jenna, a talented creator of dozens of delicious-looking pies. She is unhappily married to a loser named Earl, and in the first scene, she discovers that she is pregnant with their child. This is not good news to Jenna. She doesn’t want to be congratulated for getting pregnant the night Earl got her drunk: “Thanks, but I’m not so happy about it like everybody else might be. I’m having the baby and that’s that.” Her doctor says, “Un-congratulations.” Jenna responds, “Un-thank you.”
Throughout the movie, Jenna continues to make and serve incredible pies with names that reflect how she’s feeling, like ”Strawberry Chocolate Oasis Pie”, “Lonely Chicago Pie”, “Spanish Dancer Pie”, “I Hate My Husband Pie”, “Pregnant Miserable Self-Pitying Loser Pie”, etc. As her belly gets bigger, she writes letters to her unborn child, expressing her feelings with gut-wrenching honesty. Jenna is a sad and flawed mother-to-be, and she doesn’t try to hide it.
She finds comfort in her friends, her doctor, and her pies, but things look pretty bleak until the last part of the film. I’ll refrain from spoiling anything other than to say her time in the hospital is incredibly significant, just as it is for any new mother. I’ll also say that this movie has hope in it. It’s got plenty of humor and sweetness mixed in. Think Juno, but 10 years older, in the south.
Have you seen Waitress? What was your reaction to it? Did it make you want to try a slice of Marshmallow Mermaid pie?
Share the fun: Email + Del.icio.us + Digg + Technorati