Waitress: The Musical

This is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. The vocals and music were incredible. The entire cast was amazing. This movie is a must see. Waitress has always been one of my favorite musicals, and I never saw it on Broadway, but this movie makes you feel like you are in the theater. There wasn't a single bad song or moment at all, and you could feel all of the emotions with the characters. There were sadder, deeper, moments in the storyline, but there were still hilarious jokes and baking puns. "She Used to be Mine" was amazing. Those vocals were sooo good!!!!! I loved this movie so much, and I've even seen it three times! Everyone should go see it, this is great!!!!!!

First, this was a 2007 movie. It was released soon after Adrienne Shelly's brutal murder (which I will always associate with that Law & Order episode). It then became a Broadway musical and we're back to a movie. The obvious next step would be a full blown theatrical musical. Jenna Hunterson (Sara Bareilles) is a small town waitress and pie maker. Her life is turned upside down when she gets pregnant by her no-good boyfriend.

The singing is great. It is fun and cute. It has a heart-felt story. It is missing the pie making visuals. If they turn this into a theatrical musical, they could add that back. I do like the energy from the crowd, but the screen could never replace the real world experience. That will always hold it back in this form.

At some point, when they pull out her baking station on stage for the umpteeth time you can't help but roll your eyes and groan. Don't get me wrong, it's a cute musical. The characters are extremely stereotypical, but pleasant. It can be fun to watch them interact.

However how many times can you stand watching the main character explain her feelings in baking terms, while baking? I know many great musicals resolve around a central theme. But it's on the nose. Very on the nose. We're supposed to root for the main character and her dream of escaping a difficult situation through bakery, however at some point her relentless baking and recipes with increasingly unhinged names and ingredients just starts becoming gratingly annoying.

The music isn't particularly great either. It's fine. Nothing that I'd want to listen to on repeat. The biggest problem is that it all sounds like typical Sara Barailles fare, written for her, but sung by other people. Her typical vocal stylings are frequently imitated by other characters, because that's how the songs were written, but it all becomes very samey.

Overall I'd say it's like a pie that's too sweet. The impression is delicious, but you soon realize it's too sweet. You try to persevere, but before long the pie becomes cloying and unpleasant.

This musical production is essentially the same story in the 2007 movie "Waitress" with Keri Russel. This 'movie' was filmed in a theater with a live audience, and it has all the looks and feel, including moveable sets, of a real stage play.

Sara Bareilles is 40-something Jenna. She is a waitress and pie-baker at the local pie and short order food place. She is married to a real cad. (Incidentally her real-life husband plays her husband here.) They aren't close in any manner but after a night of drinking and frivolity she finds herself pregnant.

Most of the story involves her interactions with her co-workers, her maternity doctor, and her regular customers. It is her journey to come to grips with who she really is and what she wants out of life. Including, a few months later, for her daughter.

Bareilles, who also produced and wrote songs, is really good in the role. All the singing is good, it seems veterans of the stage were in all the roles. Although I had a career as a Scientist, in graduate school I was in a four week, 28-performance musical so watching this brought back good memories. There is something about a stage play, a musical with live singing, that is more personal and more enjoyable than a slick movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. On DVD from my public library. My wife skipped, she isn't a fan of musicals.

As a massive fan of the musical and specifically the OBC, I was nervous to hear the pro shot would feature Sara and a couple other replacements. I was pleasantly and happily surprised. Sara and Joe's dynamic, particularly because they are actually together in real life, is unique and breathtaking. The cinematography gave respect to the musical and made the baking scenes seem like a music video but it a good way. Sometimes proshots will include awkward angles or cuts and thankfully, Waitress did not. Some things I appreciated specifically were the added Nurse Norma one-liners that made even me who knows the entire script burst out laughing. Sara's voice who normally sounds too pop-like for me was actually perfect and "She Used to be Mine" made me cry. The dialogue overall felt slower than what it would have been on the stage, particularly Jenna and Earl's scenes, but I got used to it as the movie progressed. Overall, this musical is a joy. It's beautifully crafted and deals with real and raw people. I'm so happy it has an excellent pro shot to go along with it.