CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Film

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Wide Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 

Limited Releases

sort by name sort by score

83 Alexandra
80 Band's Visit, The
76 Beauty in Trouble
47 Bella
80 Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59 Blind Mountain
55 Bra Boys
60 Brick Lane
70 Caramel
49 Children of Huang Shi, The
83 Chop Shop
83 Chris & Don. A Love Story
78 Counterfeiters, The
52 Diminished Capacity
64 Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73 Duchess of Langeais, The
84 Edge of Heaven, The
52 Elsa & Fred
79 Encounters at the End of the World
62 Expired
64 Fall, The
51 Finding Amanda
57 Flawless
86 Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63 Foot Fist Way, The
60 Fugitive Pieces
45 Full Grown Men
55 Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69 Go-Getter, The
74 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63 Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68 Heartbeat Detector
34 Holding Trevor
68 Honeydripper
55 Irina Palm
69 Jellyfish
60 Jihad for Love, A
68 Kabluey
62 Kiss the Bride
63 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82 Last Mistress, The
38 Life Before Her Eyes, The
70 Love Songs
64 Married Life
30 Meet Bill
33 Miss Conception
53 Mister Lonely
74 Mongol
52 Mother of Tears, The
52 My Blueberry Nights
71 My Brother Is an Only Child
84 My Winnipeg
61 On the Rumba River
69 Operation Filmmaker
61 OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83 Paranoid Park
72 Priceless
51 Promotion, The
55 Quid Pro Quo
29 Red Roses and Petrol
79 Reprise
71 Roman de gare
56 Sangre de mi sangre
51 Savage Grace
76 Shotgun Stories
66 Son of Rambow
70 Standard Operating Procedure
62 Stuck
72 Surfwise
81 Tell No One
56 Then She Found Me
xx Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71 To the Limit
54 Tracey Fragments, The
70 Trumbo
72 Tuya's Marriage
83 U2 3D
56 Unknown Woman
86 Up the Yangtze
79 Visitor, The
62 Wackness, The
37 War, Inc.
64 Water Lilies
66 When Did You Last See Your Father?
55 Without the King
72 Woman on the Beach
64 XXY
67 Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75 Young@Heart

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Waitress
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Waitress reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 75 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.3 out of 10
based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 73 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sexual content, language and thematic elements

Starring Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelly, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Griffith, Eddie Jemison, and Lew Temple

This sweet, sassy and delicious slice of life tale reveals the power of friendship, motherhood and the willingness to take a chance. (Fox Searchlight)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Romance  
WRITTEN BY: Adrienne Shelly  
DIRECTED BY: Adrienne Shelly  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: November 27, 2007 
Theatrical: May 2, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A wee romantic charmer, a delectable Dixie screwball romp that never loses its spry sense of discovery.
Read Full Review
100
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
The writer-director Adrienne Shelly, who died in New York City late last year at the age of 40, took such perishable ingredients as wit, daring, poignancy, whimsy and romance, added passionate feelings plus the constant possibility of joy, decorated her one-of-a-kind production with pastel colors and created something close to perfection.
Read Full Review
100
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Waitress deserves an essay, not just a review. There are perfect moments that stand out, and the reasons for their perfection are interesting.
Read Full Review
91
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
The movie is an inspired comedy-drama about artistic temperament.
Read Full Review
91
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
The film is laced with lovely moments, from the leads and from Shelly as a waitress friend.
Read Full Review
88
USA Today Claudia Puig
Serves up an irresistible helping of delicious fun with writing that is tart and sharp and a story infused with sweetness.
Read Full Review
83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Sweet and sour and sexy.
Read Full Review
83
Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
Waitress is strange and sexy and personal and wonderful -- a weird little slice of pure feeling -- and it's horrible that Shelly never got the chance to see it delight a mass audience.
Read Full Review
80
Empire Staff (Not credited)
An unassuming treat amid the noisy blockbuster season. It’ll melt your heart and any dietary resolve equally.
Read Full Review
80
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Part feminist fable, part romantic fairy tale, it is by turns tart and sweet, charming and tough, rather like its heroine and like Keri Russell, the plucky, pretty, nimble actress who plays her.
Read Full Review
78
Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
The movie doesn’t stand in judgment of its characters, which will probably disappoint audiences who think it ought to, but its breezy tone and ultimately affirming message should please comedy fans with an appreciation for the offbeat.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Ty Burr
Waitress isn't a great film, but it is great, deep-dish fun, with a generosity of spirit that extends first to the sisters on the screen and in the audience, then to the rest of humanity.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
There is little trace of tragedy in this warm, refreshing Southern comedy, which is quirky without being idiotic, original despite some familiar developments.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Waitress is sweet, uneven and, ultimately, a heartbreaker.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Basically, this tale of a pregnant waitress looking for a way out of an unhappy marriage is a funny and touching riff on Martin Scorsese's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," not to mention its better-known sitcom spinoff, "Alice."
Read Full Review
75
Premiere Glenn Kenny
It's an awful shame that Shelly will not be making any more films, but all the more reason to celebrate Waitress now.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The ending of Waitress is so beguiling and whimsical that it makes you, like its diner's patrons, hungry for more--and it makes you miss that red-headed movie auteur/pastry chef/heart stealer Shelly even more.
Read Full Review
75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
A pleasant dramatic comedy that overcomes its tonal inconsistencies by presenting an engaging lead character with whom its virtually impossible not to empathize.
Read Full Review
75
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
This sweetheart of a comedy boasts a hilarious and heartfelt performance by Keri Russell.
Read Full Review
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Shelly left her daughter - and her audience - a wonderful gift, this movie about the transforming effects of motherhood. Waitress shows how, in giving birth, a woman gives birth to herself - as artist and mother.
Read Full Review
70
Variety Dennis Harvey
While aspects verge on sitcom terrain, this tale of a pregnant small-town woman caught between a bad marriage and a risky affair is mostly as funny and charming as intended.
Read Full Review
70
Newsweek Devin Gordon
Wise, humble and effortlessly funny.
Read Full Review
70
Village Voice Nathan Lee
Waitress won't set the world on fire, but it glows.
Read Full Review
70
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
It's an openhearted picture, an unintentional goodbye that feels more like a beginning than an ending.
Read Full Review
70
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Washed in a honeyed 1950s glow, Waitress has a mildly puckish way with outlandish baked goods and pert dialogue, but the movie is memorable largely for the contrast between its innocent sweetness and the savagery of its maker's premature death.
Read Full Review
70
Washington Post Paul Farhi
Among the joys here are the supporting players, each with well-defined stories and quirky personalities. Cheryl Hines (HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Shelly play fellow waitresses searching for their own happiness, and good ol' Andy Griffith is memorable as the curmudgeonly diner-owner who takes a shine to Jenna.
Read Full Review
70
Slate Dana Stevens
When you watch Waitress, you're also watching a meta-movie about Shelly's brutal end, and the spirit that bursts from every corner of this overcrowded movie is so genuinely warm that trashing it feels like panning a so-so baton-twirling performance at the church talent show.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The film isn't averse to reaching for Hollywood fantasies, but there's a lot of what seems to be hard-earned wisdom here about women in bad marriages.
Read Full Review
67
The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
It's an imperfect film, but it's the kind of imperfect film of which it would be nice to have seen Shelly make more.
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
While Shelly's stylized vision and sentimental intentions don't always gel, they do result in a warm, often charming fantasy.
Read Full Review
63
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Shelly was murdered before she could continue developing as a writer and director, and while this, her last film, is extremely uneven and undermined by an excess of quirk, Keri Russell's performance as a pregnant pie-guru is a charmer with a bracing streak convincingly desperate determination.
Read Full Review
60
Time Richard Schickel
It appears to be a true reflection of her (Shelly) spirit -- eccentric, good-naturedly feminist, kind of funny and kind of sentimental. Despite its realistic setting in a small Southern town, it is much more a fable than it is a slice of authentic life.
Read Full Review
60
New York Magazine David Edelstein
I think of Waitress as an overstuffed, overcooked pie--too ungainly to eat all of, too generous to pass up, too heartbreaking to contemplate for long.
Read Full Review
60
Film Threat Jeremy Mathews
Full of off-kilter characters who don't talk like anyone in real life, but sound a truthful chord.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 73 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Grazzi Y. gave it a3:
One of the very worst movies I've seen in years. The dialogue is beyond ludicrous, unless everyone in small southern towns cannot master basic grammar (wrong double negatives abound!) Everything is foreshadowed to such a ludicrous degree that you can't believe it when it actually HAPPENS JUST THAT WAY. And, in the center of it all is a strains-credulity-completely, illicit affair between a pregnant woman and her married doctor, played for laughs. Andy Griffith is superb; Keri Russell, well, let's just say this was not the role she was born to play.

Brad S. gave it a9:
I don't get the love/hate reactions by my fellow users. This is a quirky, funny, moving, sexy movie with a lot to say about the human spirit.

Frank D gave it a2:
The good news: Keri Russell is luminous! The camera loves her. I rented this movie for two reasons: 1) out of curiosity for tragically slain director/screenwriter/actor Adrienne Shelly; and 2) the high ranking from Metacritics. I understand how critics wanted to offer a sensitive assessment for Shelly's post-murder release, but please! This movie is quite poor! It simply has little or no psychological logic. It makes no sense that the lead character can be assertive with her doctor and others, and yet cannot stand up to her controlling/abusive husband (until she holds her newborn). Why does she just now meet the diner's long-term owner, Old Joe? She is obviously pivotal to his business -- as the central and essential pie-maker -- but her barely seems to know of her before the film begins. (And by the way, she seems to be a one-woman pie factory, but also has time to wait tables.) The whole movie lacks logic and multiple levels, and serves up every possible negative cliche regarding "small town" folk. Shelly might have indeed made some decent films had she lived, but this is not one of them.

Amina A. gave it a10:
If I could give it a 11 I would!! This movie lifted my spirit, you really did not know how it was going to go, but the best scene most have been when she (Shelly) held her baby girl for the first time AWW it was perfect. The acting was brilliant and the characters were all funny in their own way! All together it was much more then I had expected, it was a feel good movie that I have been thirsting for.

Sarah W. gave it a10:
Keri Russel proves she is more than just Felicity. Really funny, poignant, all American tale. Not just a chick flick.

Shannon P. gave it a3:
Very over-rated. Also, very inauthentic unless one thinks most people from small towns are dumb. The script is based on the central premise that people are essentially bad, especially men and children, but fortunately is too disconnected from anything real to be that depressing. Besides that, to warm the unearned cynicism are several stunningly sentimental cliches, including a crusty but lovably world-wise old man who dies of cancer, and a woman who is redeemed by a child she didn't want. Skip this one unless you're a beautiful and selfish young woman stuck in a marriage with a moronic monster and you need a cartoon character to identify with.

Jimmy S. gave it a3:
What's the message of this little movie? - Motherhood is the only way to exist for a woman. Very narrow-minded, very conservative.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: World News | Fantasy Football | Amy Winehouse | Baseball | E3 | Batman | Firefox 3 | iPhone 3G

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use