Saturday, December 29, 2012

Waitress

A young (Kerri Russell) buries the misery inflicted by her cruel and controlling husband (Jeremy Sisto) in the delectable pies she bakes which play like gangbusters at the local southern diner where she waits tables. After becoming unwillingly pregnant, she begins an affair with her charming prenatal caregiver (Nathan Fillion) and aims to win a top paying pie making contest to make the dream of leaving her husband a reality. "Waitress" is as putrid as its plot description, probably even more so, and will probably play best to those enthralled by gas station dime novels and the regular Lifetime Channel fare. Written, directed, costarring, and dedicated to Adrienne Shelly, who was murdered in a bizarre NYC home invasion before the film's release, the movie seeks to be a southern, small town female bonding picture a la "Fried Green Tomatoes" and unfortunately isn't very successful, at least from my cynical, male perspective. Even Andy Griffith brings very little to the proceedings, playing a crotchety regular at the diner, in what was one of his final roles.