Waitress

"Waitress" was a movie I was somewhat interested in but hadn't heard too much about and wasn't exactly going to line up to see. But then a friend emailed me a description of it and I stopped short when I realized: it's about pie. My god. And then I simply had to see it.

I was expecting a movie made by a woman who appreciates the deliciousness of pie to be quite an event, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact (and this is the highest compliment I can pay) it reminds me a movie that I might make, if I ever stopped eating pie long enough to make a movie.

It's a sweet film (naturally), simple in its intent and execution, funny and warm. Keri Russell plays a waitress who wants to get out of a crummy marriage but can't quite save up enough cash to run, and to top it all off she's knock up. Quite a pickle. Will she ever leave her nasty husband, win the pie contest and open her own shop? Only time – say, nine month's worth – will tell.

This movie is a love note to friendship, diners, and daughters, but it's not smarmy at all. Jenna (Russell) freely admits to resenting her baby (she calls it "an alien and a parasite" and names a pie after it, the "Bad Baby" pie, and writes it mean little letters in her head about it's stupid crib and what a pain it is), people indulge light-heartedly in guilt-free extra-marital dalliances and otherwise comport themselves badly. Jenna's husband (Jeremy Sisto) is a silly, macho man-child, who we laugh at even as we're afraid of him. The acting was great all around, especially from Russell who really surprised me with her comedic touch, and Cheryl Hines, who was just completely nuts and over the top and wonderful as the tough-yet-tender-hearted, loyal, slutty friend that every girl wants.

Sweet, sad and pretty darn lovely, "Waitress" warmed this heart of mine.
XO,
La Tante Spinster