Did anyone feel a little sorry for Earl at the end? - Waitress (2007) Discussion

[–] peterr-9 15 years ago

At the end of the birth sequence I was thinking of the horrible situation of giving birth to the child of someone you despise. It is bad enough to have children and then later go through a bitter divorce. Many parents end up poisoning their children against their exes. The thought "how will I able to keep this psycho out of my kid's life?" afflicts even people whose exes are not psychos, so what must it be like to be in Jenna's position.

However the saving grace is that the Earl character seems like such a self involved ass that he would not want a part in the kid's life. Yes I would worry about him as a stalker, but not contesting custody. Lucky thing too. because having that nutbar in the kid's life is not going to do her any good.

Yes, the ending was very surreal. Almost as though that was intenrional...

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[–] billysoffhismeds 15 years ago

Maybe it's just that I love Jeremy Sisto's characters because they are never caricatures, but I was consistently more interested in the relationship between Jenna and Earl and how it got to where it was in the movie, than her fling (because that's what it was - a fling) with Dr. Pommatter.

Clearly, they were married for several years so there must have been some love connection there in the beginning to keep them together. Why did he become such a controlling a$$hole? It would have been interesing to see more of their back-story instead of just hearing that "he changed after we got married."

I did feel sorry for Earl at the end, because it appeared (albeit briefly) that he was genuinely happy about the new baby, even though it wasn't a boy. How many men wouldn't be grossed out by cutting an umbilical cord?! He was gently teasing Jenna when he said "Don't forget what I said: 'Don't you go lovin' that baby too much'" as if he realized how silly his earlier demand to her was. But it was too late for Earl. He had pushed and controlled his way out of Jenna's heart.

You're never really *beep* if you've got a good story and someone to tell it to. ~ Novecento

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[–] peterr-9 15 years ago

It was a good performance but that does not translate to sympathy for the character.

I don't think that

He was gently teasing Jenna when he said "Don't forget what I said: 'Don't you go lovin' that baby too much'" as if he realized how silly his earlier demand to her was.

it seemed to me that he was reiterating his earlier insane narcissistic demand, which was just another in a consistent sequence of completely self centred demands. He was a sociopath without regard for the concerns of anyone, even those he supposedly loved.

And I think it is very sweet to think that

there must have been some love connection there in the beginning to keep them together.

but think it may be more likely that there relationship's foundation was when she was a naive 17 year old and he had a cool car and a place of his own.

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[–] owenrcarpenter 15 years ago

I agree with Peterr-9. Earl had not come to terms that he was now a father with all the expected responsibility. He was just pleased that he had a new toy to play with! A boy or a girl, that baby was just another thing he could 'own'. I think that he genuinely DID love Jenna in his own way, but only in the way that someone might love a piece of property. When Jenna kicked him out of her life, he lost his Kingdom and all his subjects. This is what was tearing Earl apart and nothing else. King Earl was no more! Of course, that does not mean that I did not sympathise with him at all. Earl was a man who was now totally bereft of everything that gave his life any meaning. He was lost and rudderless. He had been robbed not of his family, but his realm. Earl was now reduced to what he had probably been all along, an impotent little boy railing against all around him. Still, Jenna had to do it, and I don't think it was a moment too soon! Any later and she might have been sucked back into that toxic relationship again - and Earl would have been entitled to 50% of Joe's cheque even if she HAD managed to escape!

I think that the earlier comment about the ending rather missed the point. The film was a FAIRYTALE. A fairytale in a modern context, but still a fairytale. Despite it's naturalistic feel, it was never intended to be a realistic portrayal of life in the American South for a woman trapped in an abusive relationship. It was no more a realistic exploration of the issue than 'Cinderella' is a serious study of child abuse among familiies with step-parents!

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[–] PvtRolandBozz 15 years ago

"At the end of the birth sequence I was thinking of the horrible situation of giving birth to the child of someone you despise."

All Jenna's fault. Earl still loved her (in his messed up sort of way) but she should have broke things off the second she stopped loving him, not wait to have a kid with him and do it.

the truth is we can't all be stars, but I'll be god damned if I'll settle for bronze....

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[–] Dragon000 15 years ago

To those who say "she should have broken up sooner ..." etc.
You have obviously never been in a dysfunctional, unhealthy, or abusive relationship. This is like saying alcoholics should "just quit drinking" or that poor people just "go out and get a job."
Easier said than done.

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[–] crissttigaldames 14 years ago

I didn't feel sorry for him for a second. I just felt really happy for her. It was a magical scene.

"It was his baby after all"?. Who cares?. He beat his mother and would have been beating the child in no time. He was in no way harmless. Some people don't seem to notice that the kind of man that character represents kill their wifes all the time.

And of course it wasn't like she just "should have left so it was her foult". Blame the victim anyone?. It was his foult. He was the one abusing her. Yes, she should have left. But she felt trapped. She was scared of him. And she was trying to leave him in one scene in the film (when he hits her). It isn't so simple.

"The Love you take is equal to the Love you make" The Beatles.

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[–] kay_cee_d 14 years ago

Haha, I can't believe you people feel sorry for a narcissistic wife beater! And that you're blaming a woman scared of leaving her husband because he could really hurt her. You do realize that people in a violent relationship are sometimes too terrified to leave....to blame her is insane. She felt trapped, he was always trying to control her and treated her like a possession.

Only the shell, the perishable passes away. The spirit is without end. Eternal. Deathless.

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[–] jbernanke 15 years ago

I think Jenna did the right thing of separating when the baby is born.

The child won't be subject to the traumatic experience of a bad father, unstable household and heartbreaking divorce during her early years which is incidentally the most important developmental years.

Jenna had hindsight to do the things she did.

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[–] PvtRolandBozz 15 years ago

"I think Jenna did the right thing of separating when the baby is born."
Nope.
She should have separated "years earlier " when she said she stopped loving Earl.
Not have a baby with a guy whose obviously a troubled human being and doesn't fit in with the rest of us, who finds it hard to love things (he said Jenna was the only thing he ever loved, and it's obvious he was much happier at the idea of having a baby than she was) and then take away his baby. Why not break up with him before she was ever pregnant? she had alot of time to do that.

the truth is we can't all be stars, but I'll be god damned if I'll settle for bronze....

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[–] jmmgausa 15 years ago

No I did not feel anything but joy for Jenna. He got what he deserved; really he deserved a good whoopin'.

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[–] audonamission 15 years ago

I felt bad for him because he clearly had some very serious abandonment issues. But I was still happy that she did what she did, because he was pretty ridiculous and his happiness about the baby would have left in about five seconds once he realized how much of Jenna's time and affection it was going to take it.

What Would Leatherface Do?

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[–] Kiwifalling 15 years ago

Jeremy Sisto did a terrific job with the character, and for a moment I did feel sorry for him when he discovered the money and collapsed into tears, hugging Jenna's waist. But his fear of losing Jenna stemmed more from emotional instability and insecurity rather genuine love and devotion. So that's about as far as my sympathy extended.

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[–] esther-eisenhauer 15 years ago

You've never been in an abusive relationship, have you? I'm not just talking physical abuse now. I'm talking emotional, verbal and mental. Yeah. Not NEARLY as easy as it looks. So... yeah. That's my piece.

I'm not psycho, just a little loopy.
*~me~*

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[–] lorireece1 15 years ago

No so-called "father" should be allowed in a child's life if that "father" is potentially violent. Earl was violent toward Jenna, and if given the chance, he likely would've become violent toward the child at some point. In answer to your question, no, I don't feel sorry for Earl at all. He needed to grow up and get over himself. Abusive men are just scared little boys who need women more than women need them.

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[–] elle-07 15 years ago

I didn't feel sorry for him for a second.

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[–] PvtRolandBozz 15 years ago

"But the fact remains, he was the father of the baby. How can jenna just take the baby, and say "don't ever touch me, don't ever come near me, blah blah blah" and then have him thrown out of the room when his daughter was born just moments earlier? "

Exactly. Jenna is definitely to blame. If she would have stood up for herself "years earlier" (like she said to earl she didn't love him for years) she wouldn't be in the tough position of having a baby with someone she doesn't love!!

the truth is we can't all be stars, but I'll be god damned if I'll settle for bronze....

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[–] MovieFan00 (211) 6 years ago

She was to blame for her own abuse? Sicko.

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[–] SpiritedAway86 15 years ago

Yeah I felt sorry for Earl too a little. Even though I didn't like his character AT ALL, it was still his baby and I kinda felt bad the way she did it in front of everyone and he didnt even get to see or hold his baby. He was a total jerk but I think he was pretty harmless, just a self-centered dumbass. I soooo love Jeremy Sisto though, he did a great job in this role!

"Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words ?" ~ Marcel Marceau

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[–] Warmfire 15 years ago

I felt sorry for Earl when he got on his knees in their kitchen and held Jenna, crying the whole time.

More importantly, I felt whenever Earl made one of his insulting remarks, Jenna should have spoken up right then. He needed to know what he was doing wrong. Even if he didn't change, at least Jenna would have told him where the problems were which is only fair when you're in a relationship.

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[–] yellowbrickopera 15 years ago

I never really saw Earl as a full-fledged villain. He was obnoxious and needy, and he tended to lose his temper easily, but he wasn't heartless. It was clear in a few pivotal scenes that he did love Jenna and that he was crushed when he began to notice that the love wasn't being returned. He suffocated her. I don't think he knew he was doing it, but he was awfully clingy. For a while, I began to feel bad for him. However, the hit at the bus station wiped most of the sympathy away. There was no excuse for clocking Jenna. I know that he was angry and upset, but that was just taking it too far. As a result, I can't really feel too sorry for him, but I can understand his thought process.

Another day, another destiny.

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[–] oliver7702-1 15 years ago

I sure as heck did't feel sorry for him one bit! Certain of you have commented that it was his baby after all. True. He was the sperm doner only -- that was evident when he told her that he had to be first and he didn't want her loving the baby too much. Then did you notice how his countenance fell when he saw that the baby was a girl? Well, sorry, a-hole -- the man determines the sex of the baby, so get over it! I suspect that had she gone home with him, it wouldn't have been long before he would have been jealous of the baby and then some real violence would probably ensue.

I also don't believe that he really loved her. That is evidenced by his refusal to not pay the hospital bill. Granted, she did just tell him off, but that was way long overdue. She was a possession to him. Someone to cook and clean for him -- and by God, you give me your money you make at your job -- you don't need it! Look at all I've done for you! I let you live in my house! He didn't care anything about any of the things she wanted like entering that pie contest.

Too bad she didn't make a pie for him that had rat poison in it!

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[–] dalejrfan01 14 years ago

I didn't feel sorry for him. I felt what she said was justified. He treated her like crap for years, he was abusive, and selfish. Besides, look how he treated his wife...how do we know he wouldn't treat his daughter the same way? It's not a healthy lifestyle to raise a child in. She told him what was long overdue.

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[–] teachnsurf 14 years ago

HELL NO!!!!!! You must be a door mat!!!

Don't tell God how big your storm is...Tell the storm how big your God is.

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[–] Lady_Pearl 14 years ago

Don't be silly. He didn't deserve one iota of sympathy from anyone with any semblance of decency; he was nothing more than a child in a grown man's body. A selfish, insecure and manipulative thug who instilled fear in his wife for years as a result of his abandonment issues - stemming from God knows what. Whatever he may have experienced as a child does NOT excuse his behaviour as an adult. He only cared about himself; he didn't "love" Jenna in any shape or form and it's not at all unlikely that he would dish out the same treatment to his child as he did to his long-suffering wife; whom he viewed more as a part of his "property" than a living, breathing human being with needs of her own - needs of which he obviously couldn't fulfill. He was hardly in any condition that met with the requirements of fatherhood.

I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

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[–] owenrcarpenter 14 years ago

The very thought of that little child growing up in a household containing Earl freezes the blood in my veins. This worthless slag started beating her while she was still in her mother's womb! Who knows what else he may have begun to do to her ten or twelve years down the line?

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[–] NoWeaponForged 14 years ago

Agreed Lady Pearl.

Earl is an abuser - plain and simple. I a friend who's had a couple of guys in her life that were like Earl. One never laid a hand on her, and the other did on some occasions. She once said to me, "The difference between someone you horribly (like Earl was, manipulative, controlling, emotionally abusive, and so on and so forth) and someone who hits you across the face: when someone hits you you know it's wrong. If they spend all their time tearing you down and treating you like you're worthless and making you feel worthless, it's more difficult to recognize." Sometimes even the abused own family and close friends don't really see it. Guys like Earl, up until the hitting, and women too, are all too common and people stay. Why do they stay? Because it is often so difficult to determine the line between just being mean and being emotionally and mentally abusive.

No, I didn't feel sorry for Earl. He didn't love Jenna, he wanted someone he could control that's it.

War of Yankee Aggression, is it now okay to call Republicans crazy crackers?

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[–] 14 years ago

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