"Thumbs Up for Waitress Pie"

Saw the movie Waitress over the weekend. Definitely enjoyed it!

In the film, Jenna (Keri Russell), is unhappily married to Earl (Jeremy Sisto), her controlling, abusive husband.

The opening scene begins with Jenna sitting on a restroom toilet, awaiting the results of a pregnancy test with her two friends/co-workers, Becky (Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (Adrienne Shelly). When she sees the "bad line" (indicating pregnant), she declares it must have been from the night Earl got her drunk.

In times of distress Jenna, a waitress/talented pie-maker, creates new pies in her head such as "I Hate My Husband Pie" and "I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie."

Hiding money, she plots to leave her husband while battling feelings of hostility toward her unborn baby. When Earl finds cash stowed around the house, Jenna lies, insisting she was saving money for the baby. She later composes this letter, "Dear damn baby: If you ever want to know the story of how we bought your damn crib ... ."

Throughout all this, Jenna and her OB-GYN, Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion), start a mild flirtation-turned-affair. Despite the inappropriateness of the situation, the excitement is the only thing that brings her joy. On a deeper level, the movie is about happiness and what makes people happy.

Lighthearted and comical, I really enjoyed this flick. What I liked most about the film was Jenna's cynicism -- the way Russell delivered her lines was genius (could've done without the Southern accent though). Not to mention, she looks amazing on-screen. Contrary to popular belief, not all women dream of getting married and having babies!

As a somber side note, Adrienne Shelly, director, writer and actress of this film was found dead on November 1, 2006.

"Shelly's death was first considered a suicide. Days later, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant and construction worker confessed to slaying the actress, who he left hanging by a bedsheet from a shower rod in the bathroom of her Manhattan office/apartment. She was found by her husband."

Shelly had complained about the noise her killer was making in the apartment below hers.