Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Looking Closer

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
“Fay Grim” and “Waitress”

“Fay Grim” and “Waitress”

Last updated on: February 16, 2013 at 1:24 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

“Fay Grim” and “Waitress” 2013-02-16T13:24:40-07:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

During hours when I couldn’t write over the last couple of weeks, I managed to wedge in two films…

Fay Grim

‘Tis the summer of sequels. But forget Spidey, Captain Jack, and Jason Bourne… I know what you’ve REALLY been waiting to see. The follow-up to Henry Fool!!

What? You haven’t? You never saw Hal Hartley’s sick and twisted 1998 comedy about the garbage man who became a famous poet?

If you want a witty, challenging comedy about art, pornography, poetry, trash, publishing, and puking, go back and check out 1997’s Henry Fool. James Urbaniak, Thomas Jay Ryan, Liam Aiken, and the hilarious Parker Posey make it a memorable, if unsettling, and very R-rated, experience. But this is not filth… it’s a movie about the definition of filth, the way art is exploited in consumer culture, and… as Parry said in The Fisher King… how you can find wonderful things in the trash.

There was no reason to expect a sequel to Henry Fool, but, well, here it is, in theaters and on DVD simultaneously.

Fay Grim picks up where Henry Fool left off. Several years after the disappearance of Fay’s husband, she’s raising their troubled son, visiting her world-famous brother Simon in prison, and dodging intelligence agents from all over the world who want Henry’s mysterious, profane diaries. Frustrated, Fay sets out to find her man, and ends up facing spies and terrorists.

Grim isn’t Hartley’s best film, but it’s certainly his most ambitious. I’d recommend it for die-hard Hartley fans only; it’s way too talky, and characters spend a lot of time explaining things to each other. Thus, it doesn’t strike as much comedy gold as its predecessor. But fans will love Posey’s performance. And it was worth it for me just to see Urbaniak play Simon again.

Jeff Goldblum is a welcome addition to Hartley’s universe of quirky characters, and it was great to see the gorgeous, fascinating Elina Löwensohn again. (She and Posey share the movie’s funniest moment.) But Saffron Burrows can’t find anything interesting to do with her character. And the conclusion falls flat when it should have been poignant.

Waitress

Adrienne Shelly, who became a favorite actress of the indie scene in Hal Hartley’s brilliant 1989 comedy The Unbelievable Truth, was brutally murdered last November. She had just directed her third film, Waitress. And now that we can see what a warm, thoughtful, occasionally hilarious romantic comedy this is, it makes the loss of Shelly’s fantastic talent even harder to take.

Still, don’t let the tragedy prevent you from enjoying her accomplishment.

In Waitress, a pregnant and perturbed young beauty named Jenna, played by Keri Russell, finds herself in a nightmare marriage. Hope arrives in the form of a handsome, caring, lovestruck doctor, played by Nathan Fillion. But there’s a problem. Both of Jenna and the doctor are married. What are these two lovebirds going to do?

Fans of Firefly and Serenity, don’t despair. The charismatic Nathan Fillion may have a bright big-screen future ahead of him! Fillions’ great as the foolish Dr. Pomatter. He has great chemistry with Russell, who proves to be a delightful leading lady, and Andy Griffith almost steals the show.

Did I mention the pie? Russell plays a pie-making genius, and there’s just no choice about what to do after the movie is over—get out there, find your favorite pie shop, and indulge.

Verdict: The must-see date movie of the year.

Previous Post

June 5, 2007

Vintage T-Bone Burnett

Next Post

June 6, 2007 "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus": Starring Tom Waits?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was David's military commander and nephew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Benaiah Ittai Joab Abishai