Much like the films of Hal Hartley, Waitress is funny in a deadpan sort of way, but a sadness lurks below the surface. After making a splash in Hartley's The Unbelievable Truth and Trust, Adrienne Shelly turned to directing with Sudden Manhattan and I'll Take You There. Set in a small Southern town, her third picture revolves around waitress Jenna (Felicity's radiant Keri Russell), who works at Joe's Pie Diner (Joe is played by Andy Griffith). Jenna is the pastry genius who makes Joe's joint shine. Her co-workers include the forthright Becky (Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and insecure Dawn (Shelly). All three have man trouble, but Jenna has it the worst. Her husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto, Six Feet Under), treats her like a piece of property. When she finds out she's pregnant, Jenna fears she'll be stuck with him forever. Then, she develops a crush on her married obstetrician, Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion, Serenity). With the aid of her fanciful confections, like peachy keen tarts, their flirtation develops into a full-blown affair. It appears to be a no-win situation, but Shelly finds an empowering way to bring this bittersweet story to a close. If the candy-colored conclusion plays more like fantasy than reality, it's a fantasy worth embracing. Sadly, Shelly was murdered before Waitress ever saw the light of day (leaving behind a husband and child of her own). Fortunately, her final film is far more life-affirming than morose, although it does end with the word "goodbye." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond Waitress

Food Films

More from Adrienne Shelly

More from Fox

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: Pg13

This movie is good. It's basically about a waitress, Jenna, that bakes these excellent pies, but has a abusive husband and wishes to leave him. She finds herself pregnant. Then she starts having an affair with her OB/GYN. She is saving money to enter a pie contest, but her husband finds the money as she has it hidden in the house. Anyways she does manage to get the money she needs and leaves her husband and everything works out and she opens her own pie place. It is a really cute movie. If you are looking for a movie that everything ends happily this could be the movie that you are looking for. I wasn't sure if I was going to be glad I bought the movie or not, but I am glad that I did.

This movie was well written, by Adrienne Shelly, who also acts in the movie as the waitress who marries her nerdy and obsessed boyfriend.

I just found out that the actress was recently murdered. I will never see the movie again without thinking of her tragically, shortened life.

This story is more than a slice of pie, but a slice of life...with a mixture of quirkiness, humor and serious dilemnas. Can the pregnant waitress leave her abusive and controlling husband? Can she find the courage to make it on her own? Will she really ever come to love her baby? Should she run off with her doctor, even though she knows this would hurt his loving wife?

I liked how the pie making recipes of the waitress coincided with the concocted recipes of life...a bit of this, a bit of that...hoping it will all blend together and work out.

Keri Russell plays a waitress trapped by a controlling husband who discovers she is pregnant. Her only dream is to get away and win a pie contest. She has a gift for making amazing pies and its her refuge from the sad marriage where she has no freedom. When a handsome doctor arrives in town and pursues an unexpected affair with her, gradually her life begins to show promise of happinness with her baby and without her husband.

Waitress is my wife's favorite movie, so ... I've watched it about four times. It gets better with every viewing. The characters and storyline are charming and the message heartwarming. Beyond a great ensemble cast, Andy Griffith is brilliant as a doddering owner of the café.

Like every chick flick, Waitress has an obnoxious man as the antagonist. (Probably the ultimate chick flick is Chicago, which is, after all, about women who killed men. Great musical though.) Earl, as the husband of the main character, goes far beyond being obnoxious: So far beyond that whenever my wife or I see any male (sometimes me) acting inappropriately, we call it Earlesque.

Thank you for sending my DVD so quickly. Will use your service agian in the future.