Waitress, the movie

[Jenise]

A year or so ago when this film was released, many of us talked about how much we wanted to see it. Well, I finally saw it yesterday. I LOVED IT. Truly, unabashedly, loved it.

And immediately after viewing it, I wanted to go grab all the girls here and watch it again. Cynthia and Celia in particular will not have complete lives until they see this movie, because they're bakers. Not that I would categorize it as a chick flick, this movie's much much smarter than that and I actually don't think that a story told from a woman's point of view it automatically 'chick only' territory. But we'd have a lot to talk about afterwards.

Any other fans out there?

Oh my gosh, Jenise, how funny. We watched it the other night too. I think we saw it free on HBO on demand. Anyway, I really liked it--definitely one of those movies that stuck with me and made me think about it for days. I didn't know what kind of reviews it had gotten, so the next day I looked up some of the reviews and found that the director/producer and woman who starred in the film (Adrienne Shelly) was murdered--I think before it was even released. The movie had a very unique feel to it. One that I enjoyed immensely. Len liked it too, even though he called it a little "corny." We are the biggest "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fans, so it was fun seeing Cheryl Hines in a little different role.
We loved the names of the pies. Very clever.

I saw it last month too. I was just so-so about it. It's really hard for me to sit through a movie where a woman suffers abuse, but fails to find her voice at any time. She was physically abused by her husband and taken advantage of by her doctor and in the end she had a baby that she taught how to bake monsterous looking pies (with too much gooey stuff)! I failed to see redemption in any of her actions.

Gosh Jenise...I never even heard of it! I swear, I live in a bubble...if it's not on Playhouse Disney or Elmo isn't talking about it, I don't know about it...LOL! I will have to rent it.

We loved this movie. I did not know Adrienne Shelly was killed. How sad...I've always enjoyed her movies.

[Jenise]

The movie had a very unique feel to it. One that I enjoyed immensely. Len liked it too, even though he called it a little "corny." We are the biggest "Curb Your Enthusiasm" fans, so it was fun seeing Cheryl Hines in a little different role.
We loved the names of the pies. Very clever.

Yes, loved that unique feel you mention. Like how she never smiled, but when she finally started smiling, she couldn't turn it off. It was just one of many great little touches that reminded me of another cinema favorite, Baghdad Cafe. Corny, but in an artsy way, in the way it suspended the need to be totally realistic, and too the way it loves its characters and makes virtues out of their quirks--in that way, it celebrates what makes and keeps small towns, well, small!

[Jenise]

I saw it last month too. I was just so-so about it. It's really hard for me to sit through a movie where a woman suffers abuse, but fails to find her voice at any time. She was physically abused by her husband and taken advantage of by her doctor and in the end she had a baby that she taught how to bake monsterous looking pies (with too much gooey stuff)! I failed to see redemption in any of her actions.

Wow did we see it differently. Without going into detail, I'll tell you that I was once married to the same jerk she was. Oh, mine had a few degrees and a bigger paycheck, but he was otherwise identical in the level at which he attempted to control me--I could have finished that character's sentences. And I know that she had a voice, she just had to keep it silent because there's no talking to monsters like that. You're in trouble if you talk back or refuse, and you're even in trouble for pouting when you don't talk at all. There is no way to win--except to quietly plan your exit and tell him everything he wants to hear until that's possible. And in the meantime, you use everything you can to build up the self-esteem being in a relationship like that robs you of--which is what her affair with the doctor was all about.

But yeah, the pies weren't that good-looking. In that parting shot that should have been so wondrous, there were absolute embarrassments of pies there, some with crusts sunk half an inch below the top of the pie plate, so technically all wrong even before you discuss the fillings. All obviously made by various amateur volunteer bakers vs. one set of hands--I was surprised that after all the money spent on making the film to begin with they suddenly cheaped out on what should have been triumphant baked goods.

Will watch out for it, Jenise, thanks for the recco!

We saw this in the cinema when it was first released. My best friend and I really liked it, although she is of the "what was that woman thinking staying there" school of thought, and I was more aligned with Jenise's point of view.