Critic Critique

For my first blog I read a review by James Berardinelli of REELVIEWS about the movie Waitress. When I saw the movie myself I was intrigued. The movie has sort of a dark humor about it, and that appeals to me quite a bit. The characters are also quite diverse.

When it comes to pies - sweet, savory, or in between - Jenna is a wizard. Her fellow waitresses, outgoing Becky (Cheryl Hines) and mousy Dawn (Adrienne Shelly), are in awe of her culinary expertise but less-than-impressed by her home life. She's married to a Neanderthal of a man, Earl (Jeremy Sisto), who uses fear and intimidation to keep his wife in line.

I would agree with Mr. Berardinelli with his opinions of the characters. The character of Becky is very outgoing and isn't afraid to tell people what she really feels. I also love how he calls her husband Earl a "Neanderthal of a man". It nails him right down to a T.
His review portrays this film as a comedy with good humor but also with some drama thrown in. There were some parts of the review that I didn't agree with though.

The low-key humor offers plenty of chuckles but few belly laughs.

When watching this movie I found myself laughing, not merely chuckling, all the way through. I can't really understand how you could not bust out laughing at this movie. I guess though differences in comedy tastes could be the reason.

There's a freshness to the way Jenna is written and acted that causes us to like her more every minute she's on screen. She charms us in much the same way that she charms crotchety Old Joe, played by Andy Griffith.

I also agree that Jenna is charming. She always has a sunny disposition and can find the silver lining around the edge of any cloud. Jenna's downer of a life often gets in the way of her perspective on things, but she makes use of her talent at pie making as a way to cope.
Her friends constantly tell her she deserves better, but she has somewhat of a low self esteem. One of the people she finds helpful is Joe. He is a very grumpy man but for some reason takes a shine on Jenna. He constantly tells her she deserves better and finally in the end she listens.
In my opinion the review is pretty good. Mr. Berardinelli seems to match my thoughts on the film. I like now he described the characters, and I liked how he described the maker of the film rather than just talking about the film itself. If I had not seen the movie previously reading this review would make me want to see it. Mr. Berardinelli makes it seem like a well rounded film that will easily be enjoyed by many.