Waitress | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

Audience Reviews

Trafalgar L A sharp and witty story about an overworked pregnant waitress who has to deal with an abusive husband. "Waitress" is exactly what we need this day and age, it not only deals with a serious topic, but presents in a very respectful way. Also the performance of Jenna by Keri Russell is top notch. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/24 Full Review Ram L There are just too many things to like about this gem of a movie! Romantic yet realistic, dramatic with no "dramatic scenes," surreal yet earthy (if that's possible)—and there's no guessing how it's going to end! Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/06/23 Full Review Courtney K this is fine; there's a few cute/funny scenes & i like the cast, but it's nothing special. i'm not sure i liked it quite as much as other people did, but it was a decent one-time watch. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/18/23 Full Review Roy V The only other thing I've ever seen Keri Russell in was the show Felicity. Here, her persona, is no different, and there was no chemistry between her and Nathan Fillion. In every on-screen relationship Fillions ever been involved, he has always played the simp! Not even Andy Griffith could buttress the meandering script. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Waitress is, top to bottom, a perfect, unbeatable screenplay - and that's coming from a guy who typically hates romantically-themed movies. But oh, is Waitress so much more than romantic schlock. It's writer-director Adrienne Shelly's treatise on nearly everything you can think of: motherhood, relationships, abuse, affairs, empowerment (a word that typically makes me cringe) - basically every overdone cinematic theme is not only in here, but done so in a way that makes you feel like it's never been done before. The performances are naturally top-notch, with a final show-stealer from Andy Griffith.It's a national tragedy that this movie wasn't the kick-off for a decades long career of fantastic films by Adrienne Shelly, may she rest in peace. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review ronald h A light comedy with some incongruously dark moments, "Waitress" kept me watching, even though I couldn't figure out why. It's like a TV sitcom co-written by a cynic and a romantic.Keri Russell plays Jenna, a small town waitress with a talent for making incredible pies. She's married to a goofy, borderline-abusive redneck named Earl (Jeremy Sisto), and she's not happy. When she discovers that she's pregnant, she visits the new OB/GYN in town (Nathan Fillion), who happens to be the polar opposite of her husband—low key, polite, gentlemanly. Of course, they start an affair. But it's not a torrid, sweaty sheets affair; it's more like something from "The Andy Griffith Show," if such things were actually permitted in Mayberry.Speaking of Andy Griffith, he plays the curmudgeonly old grouch who owns the diner where Jenna works. He was around 80 years old when this film was made, and he has the most hilarious lines in the script. The interesting thing is that even though the characters are small town stereotypes, each of them is a surprise. When they open their mouths, the unexpected comes out. It keeps you engaged in spite of the sunny triviality.Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly hit all the right comedic notes as Jenna's fellow waitresses and girlfriends (Shelly, who also directed, was tragically murdered after filming this). Fillion is off-kilter as the young doctor, insecure and kind of clumsy, not your typical handsome home-wrecker. Likewise, Sisto is not the usual brooding, angry redneck husband. He's insecure and neurotic, and we almost sympathize with him for being so clueless.This is not a greatly substantial movie, but it has something going for it. It's goofy but not dumb. I would have been interested in further works by Shelly. What a loss.Watch this one when you're tired of overbearing Hollywood melodramas. Initially, it appears to be lightweight, but it's got a surprising amount of substance. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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