Really and truly, I don’t relish making arguments that are likely to fall on deaf ears, but I’m going to try anyway. Parents, instead of taking your young teens to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 this holiday weekend, why not take them to see the Iranian film Offside instead?

Adrienne Shelly’s Waitress shows the late writer-director’s broad familiarity with, and affection for, a lot of pop culture— especially the exaggerations of southern gothic comedy-dramas like Steel Magnolias and TV sitcoms such as “My Name is Earl” and “Alice.”