MovieChat Forums > Waitress (2007) Discussion > Felt bad for Earl, disliked Jenna

Felt bad for Earl, disliked Jenna

posted 16 years ago by KathyKinkerk
61 replies | jump to latest

As with all films, there was a clear protagonist and antagonist in "Waitress", however I found that during my viewing Earl was the person my sympathy went towards.

I realize that Earl did not treat Jenna like a princess, but I think in the same regard she showed no love to a man who, in his eyes, was loving her the only way he knew how to. Earl seems quite childish at points; he is jealous, overprotective, and needy. Underneath all of that is a person who is desperate for the love of the one person he thought would be with him forever. I can completely understand his motivation for being so difficult with her, he was trying to get her to just reciprocate the feelings he had for her which she clearly lost for him long ago.

The poor guy is so desperate for affection that his emotions control how he reacts to certain situations, making him get angry over things he can't make sense of in his head. Why would Jenna be hiding money from him? I think he trusted his wife and to see that she would lie to him like that devestated him.

Jenna, instead of trying to work things out with her husband, seemed to take a "poor me" stance and gave up even trying to fix her life for a period of time. I understand that these characters are quite possibly not intelligent enough to properly handle this situation, but there are many things she could have tried to improve her life. Earl loved her despite being a bit over-protective, and if she could try to work out the thing she found wrong in the relationship she might not be so miserable.

On to why I disliked Jenna, she made herself into a victim. Her life didn't have to be as bad as it was in her eyes. Watching this movie, I kept thinking how overwhelmingly terrible the writer did in making her a character the audience can sympathize with. She cheats a man who loves her in his own way. She doesn't want her baby, almost making it sound like she despises it and yet is planning to keep it. She interrupts another person's marriage. It does take two to tango, but Jenna was the person that initiated it.

I felt sorry for Earl, having his life crash around him at the end of the movie. The woman he was in love with tells him that she hasn't loved him for years, his child appears to have been taken away from him, and he never recieved the love he was searching for in the one person who owed it to him, as his wife. I cannot see how Earl can be so hated for being so very human and yet people are glad for Jenna when she is happily cheating on him.

That was my take on the movie. I didn't enjoy it too much because I prefer to like the main character, and 99/100 times I do, just not this time.

[–] SgtSchultz00 11 years ago

What's wrong with you?

[–] ilahilda 10 years ago

I think they were both idiots, but that was cruel to dump him right after she had the baby. I would have waited a while, had a civil conversation and told him it was over. I would also move out and give him visitation rights.

[–] owenrcarpenter 10 years ago

As I recall, Earl was dragged out of the room declaring that he wanted nothing to do with either Jenna or her 'brat'.

I wouldn't have given the worthless SOB as much as a whiff of Lulu's used diaper!

[–] cpoet 9 years ago

I think they were both idiots, but that was cruel to dump him right after she had the baby. I would have waited a while, had a civil conversation and told him it was over. I would also move out and give him visitation rights.

SURE, she could have spared the man public embarrassment, had that little talk with him in private, packed her stuff and set up mutually agreeable custodial and child support arrangements while she waited for the taxi.

Because it would have worked out so much better if she'd waited until she was alone with her violent, abusive husband and her defenseless newborn. That civil conversation would have ended the moment Earl pointed out how easy it is to "accidentally" snap a baby's neck. He used every trick in the book to control her--mental, emotional, physical, financial. The baby would have been the ultimate means of locking her down.

Maybe you noticed the first time he found her with a suitcase? The only thing that stopped him from beating the crap out of her was the shock and distraction of learning she was pregnant--which translated, for him, into concern over whether she might not be able to service his needs at the 100% level.

I'm overwhelmed by the number of people who sympathize with poor Earl. I guess they're just really lucky to have lives that have left them so unfamiliar with the reality and trajectory of domestic abuse.

[–] MovieFan00 (211) 6 years ago

He theated to rape her, while she was heavily pregnant.

The guy deserved absolutely nothing from Jenna.

[–] TeenGangDeb 9 years ago

wrong

++++++
Love means never having to say you're ugly. - The Abominable Dr. Phibes

[–] lizcarlo87 9 years ago

He was an abuser, took her money, didn't let her have a car and told her to not love the baby more than him. The guy was self centered, narcissistic abusive jerk. No he isn't good guy and didn't love her in his own way. The man was selfish. I hope you don't ever get with a guy like him. They are toxic. It's harder to leave abusive relationship than people realize.

[–] tegelane_5 8 years ago

It was just too over the top, basically what ever Earl could possibly do wrong/bad he did. We didn't see any, even glimpse of a reason why they were together. That just didn't make any sense. For instance if He was this conniving bastardo,like we are lead to believe, no way in hell woul'd he burst into that wedding like he did. Some passive agressive yes, but not that kind of outburst.
Compare that for instance, Dwight played by DeNiro in "This boys Life". Now that character was believable abuser. Ofcourse "This Boys Life" was not fiction, but even if You don't know that, it makes sense.

[–] Ellie_IntoTheOcean 8 years ago

As a woman who has been stuck in a marriage very similar to Jenna's I disagree.
I see your point, believe me, but things started to get better for me when I realized he would never understand he had a problem, and would never do anything to help himself.
For years I stayed, trying to protect HIM from himself. For years I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. And every time I pictured myself without him, and how my life could be, I felt guilty.
But where was I in all of this? Who protected me? People kept asking if I needed help and I'd say "I'm fine!", big smile on my face, as if everything was alright. It wasn't alright. I was getting more and more depressed.
I loved him, and I wanted to protect him, but I couldn't. You know what I was doing? I was enabling him to think he was ok. And most of all I was losing myself.
My son gave me what I needed to break away. When he became stressed, fearful, afraid of his father and his anger bursts. I found help. I slowly, slowly rose back up (it's a long, long road).

Do you think Earl (a man like him) would have accepted he had problem? He'd accept to seek help? No, he wouldn't. "My" Earl never did.

I am a college educated person, I have a great job, I'm no fool, I've studied abroad, I speak four languages, my IQ is great. This could happen to anyone. "I understand that these characters are quite possibly not intelligent enough to properly handle this situation", that sentence made my blood boil.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MovieFan00 (211) 6 years ago

It says a lot about you, that you felt bad for the misogynistic, wife beating, rape threatening husband and not for his victim. A whole lot.

[–] StinkyPoopyPants (3156) a year ago

Earl was a disgusting, selfish, controlling and abusive piece of shit. I can't believe anyone would sympathize with a beast like him.