Watch This: 'Waitress'

Watch This: 'Waitress' - Movie review

Date of movie review: 11.26.2007

"WAITRESS"

107 minutes. Rated PG-13.

The late Adrienne Shelly tells a bittersweet tale in "Waitress," which stars Keri Russell as Jenna, a woman who is stuck in an awful marriage and is pregnant to boot. Her long hours on her feet in a small-town Southern diner are eased only by the pleasure she gets from baking pies.

Even with their own problems, Jenna's co-workers -- Becky ("Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (Shelly) -- commiserate with her. The prospect of a child has made Jenna feel even more trapped, because it makes the possibility of leaving her bullying husband (Jeremy Sisto) more difficult. And abortion -- the subject is never raised -- seems out of the question.

So Jenna keeps baking pies until the arrival in town of a new obstetrician (Nathan Fillion). Fascination eventually turns to romance -- adulterous, yes, but Shelly takes the story beyond narrow morality. Neither sentimental nor harsh, "Waitress" feels like a slice of life. It may be a bit of a fable, but it has honest feelings.

Russell -- out last week on big screens in "August Rush" -- gives Jenna the sense of resiliency she needs to survive, while Hines gets to show her comic chops as Becky.

Tragically, Shelly -- a solid actress in her own right -- was slain last year in a Manhattan apartment not long after the movie was finished and accepted to the Sundance Film Festival, where it was a hit. Her death brings a sense of sadness to a film that would otherwise be something to smile about.

DVD extras include several featurettes, including a memorial to Shelly; and commentary with Russell and producer Michael Roiff.

-- Los Angeles Daily News