Waitress
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: May 2, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
31
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Wall Street JournalJoe 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
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A wee romantic charmer, a delectable Dixie screwball romp that never loses its spry sense of discovery. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick 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
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The film is laced with lovely moments, from the leads and from Shelly as a waitress friend. Read full review
91
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The movie is an inspired comedy-drama about artistic temperament. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia 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-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Sweet and sour and sexy. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianM. 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
The New York TimesA.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
80
EmpireStaff (Not credited)
An unassuming treat amid the noisy blockbuster season. It’ll melt your heart and any dietary resolve equally. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarrit 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
Rolling StonePeter Travers
This sweetheart of a comedy boasts a hilarious and heartfelt performance by Keri Russell. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie 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
75
ReelViewsJames 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
New York PostLou 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
PremiereGlenn 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 TribuneMichael 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
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Waitress is sweet, uneven and, ultimately, a heartbreaker. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy 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 HeraldConnie 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
70
VarietyDennis 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
NewsweekDevin Gordon
Wise, humble and effortlessly funny. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNathan Lee
Waitress won't set the world on fire, but it glows. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
It's an openhearted picture, an unintentional goodbye that feels more like a beginning than an ending. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla 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
SlateDana 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
Washington PostPaul 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
Chicago ReaderJonathan 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 A.V. ClubKeith 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
TV Guide MagazineMaitland 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
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth 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
60
Film ThreatJeremy Mathews
Full of off-kilter characters who don't talk like anyone in real life, but sound a truthful chord. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)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
TimeRichard 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
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