Waitress - lonely Chicago pie

All I want to do is make pie

Kerri Russell shows a surprising flare for the light and heavy comedic moments presented to her in Waitress as Jenna. Her character arc is so different from Felicity, because Jenna has to overcome the heavy burden of her bad marriage to an abusive domineering husband [played by Jeremy Sisto who has a penchant for this type of character a la Thirteen]. Jenna longs for escape and has been saving up as she works at Joe's diner famous for its 27 different kinds of breakfast lunch and dessert pies. If there is one thing Jenna can do is make pie, unusually named pies that spring to life on screen as she concocts them in her mind for the day's menus. Seeing her make pie is a sensuous experience, as she melts chocolate, mashes berries, folds in various chips and fillings into the crusts, Her dream is to make the pie that would win the local pie making competition Miss Pie USA and with its first prize of twenty-five thousand dollars buy her way to freedom.

The ornery Andy Griffith is Joe, a cranky customer who places very specific orders with the waitress; but then again he is owner of the place and he is forthright and loud. But throughout Waitress the two develop a bond over horoscopes, straight up advice and the colorful stories of his life.

Waitress is a modernized Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - filled with the bond three waitresses the flirtatious Cheryl Hines [from Curb Your Enthusiasm] as Becky, Adrienne Shelly herself as Dawn and Kerri Russell as Jenna, share with each other and set against the cantankerous head cook Cal [Lew Temple] who runs the place. Adrienne Shelly who wrote and directed Waitress also plays Dawn, the meek one who blossoms after discovering her husband to be through a five minute date.

It does not help that Jenna finds herself trapped by an unwanted pregnancy after a night of getting drunk with her husband. And her dreams of freedom become quickly dashed.

Pregnant Miserable Self Pitying Loser Pie. Lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in. Flambé of course

But along the way she finds relief from her bad marriage drudgery in the form of Nate Fillion as Dr. Pomatter, filling in for her usual female obi gyn Dr. Lily Mueller. At first it starts awkwardly between them as she makes her first appointment to confirm her pregnancy with a marshmallow pie in hand, and finds herself disconcerted by his nervousness - but the sparks fly and the affair cements itself in pie as their romance and her pregnancy progresses - an affair complicated by the facts of their each being married.

What Babette's Feast did for gourmet dinner, Waitress does for pies. Delicious mouthwatering pies each a reflection of a dream moment or a mood by Russell.

Waitress is a wonderful wistful type of film that is overshadowed by the tragic passing of Adrienne Shelley who also helped write the lullabye Jenna sings to her baby at the end as she makes yet another pie.

When the world is gray and bleak
Baby don't you cry
I will give you every bit of love that's in my heart
I will bake it up into a simple little pie…

Baby don't you cry
Gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Baby don't be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle.
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Baby don't you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.

Baby's here's the sun
Baby here's the sky
Baby I'm the light and I'm your shelter
Baby you are mine
I could freeze the time
Keep you in my kitchen with me forever
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Baby don't you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.

Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with butterscotch love
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with lemon cream love

Baby don't you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.