Waitress could have turned into a middling mess, or something with characters that are hard to like (or, I should really note, sociopathic) if done in a more hard-lined Hollywood 'rom-com' assembly-line output (in 2007 those were still done). But Adrienne Shelley was more, for lack of a less precise word-choice, sweet-hearted about her characters. Even the villain of the story, and he is a villain who stands firmly in the way of our hero Keri Russell, her character's husband played by Jeremy Sisto, takes a break (if only in the tiniest moments) to not be a scumbag and show how he too can be vulnerable and afraid.He surely shows his humanity the least - Sisto is scarily adept at making his Earl into a presence that's felt off camera too, if not more so - but Shelley had with Waitress a real chance to make a commercial picture and she took it. Prior to this she directed a couple of low budget independent films, and with this may have seemed to go 'mainstream'. The casting choices though are what count here especially; Russell carries so much screen presence that it's a wonder the lens doesn't make out with her before Nathan Fillion's Doctor does. And in small parts she gets things right too with Cheryl Hines as another waitress at the diner where Jenna serves and (especially, well, uniquely) makes pies, and Andy Griffith is the nice-but-demeaning water (he better get his two waters AND have time to read the horoscope!)There are times when the movie goes into perhaps being too 'cute' or 'quirky'; this is from the same studio, Fox Searchlight, that would a few months later put out another story of an uncertain-in-her-life young woman, Juno, and there's points this dips into being a story that is so light it might float away (or another way to put it on the other extreme is that it's a more grounded version of Pushing Daisies). And oddly enough if there's one part of the movie that doesn't work for me it's ironically Shelley's own sub-plot, where she's another waitress courted by a stone-cold Nebbish with a capital N, and who have an argument in the diner which kind of grinds the movie to a halt.But I can forgive (most of) that for how pure the relationship is between Russell and Fillion on screen; I wish I saw more of Nathan FIllion in movies, or at least in leads like this where he gets to develop a character and he shows us just enough to get to understand why he's doing the things he is. Or, on the reverse, not entirely know why, again this is from Jenna's point of view and that's crucial - we're seeing it through HER eyes, through the downtrodden hero we want to see get out of her loveless marriage. Though some parts are funny (scattered really), it's actually more of a drama with a light touch, and it feels harrowing at times in the scope of a low-middle class, blue collar existence: what does one do with the options presented, i.e. bad marriage, a baby on the way that may/may not be loved, and an affair that is hot but untenable?Russell guides all of these conflicts of the character beautifully, leading up to a conclusion that is genuine and moving. To a further point, knowing about the horrible circumstances outside of the production - Shelley was murdered just before the film was released, though it was finished at the time - makes the very ending a real lump-in-the-throat moment (or just cry your eyes out, go for it). Waitress wears its emotions on its sleeve, but it carries its sincerity along both in the writing and performances, so it's a tough film to ever put down all that much.

The story is simple. A waitress has an abusive husband and she get's pregnant and goes to the local doctor for consultation and she falls in love with him and between them begins a love romance.I'm truly amazed by the high rating. I don't say it's a bad movie just that is simple and nothing too fancy about it. Just the drama of an ordinary American woman and her daily routines at work and at home. Also we are not told why her husband has this vile behavior for his wife, in fact what she ever do to him that deserves this treatment? There a many movies with mystery in witch a review is hard to write because after you watched you still don't get it, even if you watch more then once but here is not the case so I still think is a too appreciate film for it's trite content. If you are bored in one afternoon and you are in the mood to watch a story life, this is a good pick, but that's all.

I heard about this independent film, which I really wanted to see, because I knew the writer and director Adrienne Shelly died not long after filming had finished, and not long before it was headlining a film festival, I assumed her death was either an accident or suicide, I had no idea she was murdered! Basically Jenna Hunterson (Dark Skies' Keri Russell) works at Joe's Diner in a small town in the American South as a waitress, inventing many varieties of delicious pies, she hopes to get away from her abusive husband Earl Hunterson (Jeremy Sisto), and has been saving a thousand and hidden it around the house. Her plans suddenly change when she finds herself pregnant with her husband's baby, this is not something she wants but is going to give birth, and it certainly urges her more to enter a pie baking contest to win the $25,000 prize. Tracking Jenna's pregnancy progress is new physician Dr. Jim Pomatter (Nathan Fillion), who at first she is unwilling to talk to much seeing how he is not her usual doctor she has known since childhood, and of course she shows no enthusiasm for the unborn child. She hides this pregnancy for her grouchy boss Cal (Lew Temple) as she is sure he will fire her, but actually he doesn't care, and continuing work she bonds with her only friends, co-workers Becky (Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (Adrienne Shelly), and cantankerous diner owner Old Joe (Andy Griffith) who offers her wisdom. As Jenna spends more time with Dr. Pomatter, who is also married himself, they start seeing each other both in and out of the medical office and having mutual attraction start an affair, and of course he enjoys her delectable pies. The baby is nearing the point of coming out, there is a point when Earl obviously knows she is pregnant, but also discovers the hidden money and she is forced to pretend it is for a baby crib, which she buys with her saved money. Jenna ends the affair with Dr. Pomatter, has a visit from Old Joe who is being treated himself, and soon after she gives birth to a baby girl, it turns out to be something she is really happy about, and bonding with the child she finds the strength to be blunt to Earl and say that she hasn't loved him for years. She is upset to find out that Joe went into a coma and will most likely die, but she remembered he gave her an envelope before the birth, it is a hand-drawn card sketch, and also she is shocked to receive a cheque for $270,450, with a message to start her life afresh. The final scenes see Jenna and her girl she named Lulu (as a toddler played by Shelley's real daughter Sophie Ostroy) bonding joyfully, she does win the pie baking contest, and she taken over the diner renamed Lulu's Pies where her friends and customer enjoy the brightly coloured pies served everyday. Also starring Eddie Jemison as Ogie and Darby Stanchfield as Francine Pomatter. Russell gives a really sweet performance as the woman passionate about pies and trying to find herself while finding new love, Fillion is likable as the doctor and love interest, and the supporting cast members all do well, including Shelley as an eccentric fellow waitress, the story is nice and simple, flows really nicely mixing well though funny, loving and dramatic moments, including with the subjects of motherhood and unhappy marriage, and the pies look really nice, it is such a shame what happened to Shelley, as this is a really heartwarming romantic comedy. Very good!

Here's a brief summary of this mess of a film. A young waitress and pie-maker is trapped in an unhappy marriage. After becoming pregnant, she mopes around and has an affair for about an hour and a half, after which all her problems are solved by cute baby footage and a kindly old moneybags ex machina.Plotting, as you may have guessed from the above summary, suffered from the writer's obvious lack of talent. In terms of dramatic action, the movie basically introduced its premise (a pregnant woman in an unhappy situation has an affair with her doctor), stagnated for an extended period of time, and then resolved everything suddenly at the end as Earl, Dr. Pomatter, and Old Joe simultaneously vanish in a puff of smoke. This is not how you make a plot!I can't really comment on characterization in this film, because there weren't any characters. The worst portrayal was the husband Earl, a ridiculously exaggerated figure with no redeeming qualities or really any qualities at all beyond being mean. The lead character was also very poorly drawn – I think she was supposed to represent a strong character trapped in a bad situation, but in reality she did almost nothing for the whole movie before suddenly finding her true calling as a mother. She didn't develop in any way – basically she just suffered for a while and then had all her problems solved by money and a divorce. The doctor is as much of an empty shell as everyone else. Pretty much all he does is make doctor-like remarks that sound about as realistic as the setup for a pornographic scene, mixed with unconvincing declarations of feeling. I suppose he is supposed to seem sincere and romantic, but it just doesn't work.