While watching Andrinne Shirley's posthumous work "The Waitress", I often poured out the feelings brought by watching the 2006 film "Little Miss Sunshine". The two low-budget independent films seem to have a relaxed tone, choose a practical angle, and portray the life of ordinary Americans. They are not perfect, and both have unsatisfactory shortcomings. For various reasons, their Acting in style is also not in line with traditional moral concepts. While witnessing their trivial matters, troubles, and pursuits, the audience couldn't help but feel heartbroken, sighed for the misfortune of the little people, and applauded their courage to pursue ideals and happiness.
The film "Waitress" focuses on the lives of middle- and lower-class women in today's American society. It looks at complex emotional issues such as marriage, family, self, and fertility from a female perspective. It expresses a pregnant woman's mental path and journey out of an unfortunate marriage and family. During this period, she suffered, struggled, confused, confused, and indulged, but in the end, her desire for happiness and freedom, as well as the power of maternal love brought by a new life, allowed her to get out of the mud and bravely start a new life.
Although it is a comedy, the film does not have the gimmicky jokes and vulgar and low-level plots, which is pure anomaly in today's American comedy. Its story is simple, the structure is simple, the rhythm is slightly slow, and the first half is a bit loose, like a lazy afternoon snack time. The film has no big-name actors and no flashy packaging, and the reason why the film is particularly eye-catching at the Sundance Film Festival is that screenwriter and director Andrinne Shirley was killed by a burglar shortly after the film was completed. In addition to the tragic color, the most important thing is that it presents a fresh and frugal atmosphere, a warm plot and a delicate and vivid female perspective, which deeply moved the audience. It has a long aftertaste like drinking tea at midnight, and its comedy style is like the return of light comedies in the 1970s and 1980s.
Jenna (Kerry Russell), the waitress at Joe's restaurant in small town, has a talent for desserts, especially a variety of delicious homemade pizzas. She is trapped in a boring and helpless marriage, and her husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto), is a complete asshole, and when he comes on the scene, he is a complete human being. Traits of scum: honking the car horn, asking his wife to hand over a day's earnings, forcing her to repeat what he likes to hear. In the later scenes, this person showed his anxious, fragile, selfish and violent side. Because of the fear of domestic violence, although she longs for independence, Jenna has to struggle to maintain and endure in the gap between sex and love. Of course, Jenna also has a defiant side. She acts against her husband, saves money in private, and prepares to leave Earl. However, the sudden pregnancy surprised Jenna. Unlike other happy pregnant women, Jenna was very disgusted with this unplanned product.
At this time, Palmett (played by Nathan Fillion), a young, handsome and gentle obstetrician and gynecologist, came to the small town hospital. Jenna, who was lonely and contradictory, was involuntarily attracted by the doctor during her regular check-up. Restrained and restrained, he still couldn't help but fall in love with him. This crazy infatuation time is obviously based on violation of morality, but for Jenna, it seems to have caught a piece of driftwood in the quagmire, becoming the only joy and comfort in her difficult life and troubled pregnancy. thing.
The moment her daughter was born, the moment she held her in her arms, the instinct of maternal love aroused the infinite power in Jenna's heart. She wanted to give her child a happy and peaceful life. She was no longer afraid of the control and temper of the bastard Earl. Tell him firmly that she wants a divorce. After the troublesome Earl was taken out by security, Jenna looked at her daughter affectionately and named her "Lulu". When she was discharged from the hospital, Jenna told Dr. Palmett that she was going to end their inappropriate relationship. The doctor was stunned, as if he was just a ladder for Jenna to get out of the haze. At the end of the film, Jenna opened a "Lulu" restaurant with the support of the well-meaning old man Old Joe. The business was good. When night fell, Jenna took the hand of her daughter who was just walking on the way home...
Andrinne Shirley successfully endowed Jenna with rich character traits. It is said that this script was written during her pregnancy. Shirley, who empathized with her, vividly portrayed the emotional contradictions and complexities of women at this moment. Jenna, who is in a weak position, seems to be a complex of contradictions, that is, weak and flexible, but also courageous and persevering. Seeing her husband's face, she can also burst into character strength in an instant. It looks like a conflict, but in fact it is harmonious. And Jenna's affair is also handled very dramatically, starting with impulsive and passionate love, but braking rationally at the critical moment. In this regard, the film has gone out of the cliché of most love stories - Jane Na is not the Cinderella in fairy tales. She doesn't need an obstetrician to save her. On the road of life, only self-help is the most reliable.
The film doesn't tell any big truth, but it implies two attitudes to survival. The store manager, who had an affair with female employee Becky, faced Jenna's questions, and frankly stated his attitude towards life: go with the flow and be content with the status quo. Old Joe, owner of Joe's Restaurant, encouraged Jenna to "find the right turning point and start a new life". And Jenna's turning point is the new life Lulu, love + determination + the support of kind people, Jenna finally has her own "Happy Ending".
In the soothing and slightly lazy rhythm, the actors' performances are natural and simple. Carey Russell's Jenna is rich in layers, Jeremy Sisto's Earl is the finishing touch, Andy Griffith's Old Joe is understated but quite skillful, and the other roles are also appropriate, director and screenwriter Charlie also starred In the film, Jenna's lovely colleague Dawn, and Nathan Fillion, who played Katherine's husband Adam in the fourth season of "Desperate Housewives", still played the gynecologist in "Waiter". It seems that he has already played this profession. It's easy to drive.
In addition, what makes the simple and clear picture of the film charming and lovely are the various delicious pizzas and production materials interspersed in it. The color is attractive, the shape is exquisite, and it is very seductive, but unfortunately I can't eat it. In the film, the role of pizza is not only eye-catching, they all have strange names, which represent what Jenna encounters and thinks every day. For example, when Jenna learned that she was pregnant, she wanted to make a name For "Don't Want Earl's Kids" pizza, she made the 'I'm in Love' pizza when she was in love with the doctor.
The American version of "Delicious Relationship" starring Catherine Zeta-Jones released not long ago is a film about emotions and food. In comparison, Charlie, who is good at making desserts, uses this very cleverly in the film. It is more and more natural. Pizza is not the focus of the film. It is just a medium. It is the most intuitive and direct way of expressing Jenna's emotions and mentality. Just like Jenna's mood diary, it also reflects Xia Li's unique perspective on life, but she has passed away, leaving only a legacy.
( http://nicolew.blog.hexun.com/15160523_d.html )
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