Rating A-

Last weekend every movie we wanted to see at Redbox (huge fan) was unavailable in a 20 mile radius, except one copy of Waitress. Judging by the cover it looked awful: Keri Russell in a yellow waitress uniform holding a pie. I thought I could predict the entire plot just by the cover.  But the ratings were promising.

Within 5 minutes I knew I was wrong. Each character has these bizarre quirks you end up loving; I imagine because it’s the oddities which we can relate with. The plot takes you from laughing to near crying several times. You enter the psyche of the main character when she imagines new pies. I was thrilled to see old Andy Griffith who has a humorous role.

The subject matter is relationships: good ones/bad ones, right ones/wrong ones. The setting is a Pie Diner in The South. It has an independent film feel, yet still leaves you warm and fuzzy by the end. Acting, writing, directing, and cinematography were all superb.

On a side note, Adrienne Shelley wrote, directed, and acted in the movie. We were so impressed we watched all the special features. About the time we were convinced this could be the most talented woman in the film industry, we watched a segment entitled: Adrienne Shelley: Memorial. It was vague, but apparently she dies before the film is shown. Curious, we searched her name in Wikipedia and found out she was MURDERED! Randomly. She was working alone in her apartment, went to tell the guy below to be quiet, and he kills her. It’s really sad too because the last scene of the movie features her little 2 year old daughter.