Waitress

Dir: Adrienne Shelly

2007

****

Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film Waitress is an uplifting and heartwarming comedy drama, somewhat tainted by the tragic story behind it. Shelly was found brutally murdered at her office just weeks after completing the film. The film was accepted into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, her dream come true that she died before experiencing. The film was later picked up by Fox Searchlight and the then COO Nancy Utley stated that “Seeing Waitress at Sundance was a really emotional experience. The typical format for the festival is that the director is introduced to say a few words before the film begins. It was painful from the beginning to see that there was no director to introduce the film since Adrienne had died. So the producer and Adrienne's husband Andy talked about how it had been Adrienne's dream to have a film at Sundance. It was very poignant.” However, one shouldn’t just see Waitress as Shelly’s last film, we should see it and treasure it for the wonderful film that it is. It stars the brilliant Keri Russell as a young woman trapped in a small town, a loveless marriage, and a dead-end job, who faces an unwanted pregnancy. Jenna Hunterson is a waitress living in the American South, trapped in an unhappy marriage with her controlling and abusive husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto). She works in Joe's Pie Diner, where her job includes creating inventive pies with unusual titles inspired by her life, such as the "Bad Baby Pie" she invents after her unwanted pregnancy is confirmed. While a receptionist at the doctor’s office notices her disappointment, and even mentions to her that she can have the pregnancy "taken care of" in a city about 2 hours away, she decides to keep the baby nonetheless. She shows up late for work, talks on the phone, spends time with personal business, and talks back to the boss. She longs to run away from her dismal marriage and is slowly accumulating money to do so. She pins her hopes for escape on a pie contest in a nearby town, which offers a $25,000 grand prize, but her husband won't let her go. Her only friends are her co-workers, Becky (Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (played by Shelly), and regular customer, Joe (Andy Griffith), the curmudgeonly owner of the diner and several other local businesses, who encourages her to begin a new life elsewhere. Jenna's life changes after she meets her new physician, Jim Pomatter (Nathan Fillion). He has moved to the small town to accommodate his wife, who is completing her residency, at the local hospital and is filling in for the woman who has been Jenna's doctor since childhood. The two are attracted to each other, and over the course of several pre-natal appointments the attraction grows. After Dr. Pomatter invites her into the office under a quickly exposed pretext, she impulsively initiates a passionate affair. Prompted by the gift of a baby journal, Jenna begins to keep a diary, ostensibly for her unborn child, revealing her thoughts about that future child, and her own plans. After giving birth, Jenna bonds immediately with the baby girl, and names her Lulu. Earl, clearly disappointed that it's a girl, reminds Jenna of a promise he had forced her to make earlier, not to love the baby more than she does him. She bluntly tells him that she hasn't loved him in years, will no longer put up with his possessiveness and abuse, and will not let Lulu grow up with him mistreating her, and wants a divorce. Enraged, Earl attempts to assault Jenna, but is escorted out of the hospital by security staff. Later, while Becky and Dawn are helping Jenna prepare to leave the hospital, and letting her know that Joe had collapsed and gone into a coma, Jenna remembers an envelope Joe brought to her before the birth, when she finds out he was admitted as a patient in the same hospital. In the envelope she finds a handmade card with a sketch of her, a check for $270,450, and a message of friendship that urges her to start her life anew. While leaving the hospital, Dr. Pomatter wants to have a word with her in private regarding their affair and what is to happen now. She promptly breaks it off, handing him a chocolate Moon Pie and asks her friends to wheel her out. An epilogue depicts Jenna winning the pie contest, and becoming the new owner of the diner where she worked, now called Lulu's Pies, serving brightly colored pies to her customers and friends. The final shot shows her happily walking home hand-in-hand with her toddler, Lulu. It has got to be one of my favorite endings to a film of all time, a proper feel good movie. However, Waitress should come with a warning, because I don’t care how much anyone  proclaims themselves to be ‘Not much of a dessert’ person – this film will make you hungry! I suggest watching it with plenty of pie and a loved one, this one is sweet as pie.