"Waitress"

I think it's funny that I don't post blogs for a whole week at a time, then I put two up in one day. As usual, there is another one below from earlier today...

Last night, I saw the lovely indie movie "Waitress" with Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion. It was one of those movies that makes you truly happy that people make movies. Simple and honest with real Southern charm, it is the story of "Jenna, a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness". (Thank you, IMDB. I didn't want to give away plot details, so I thought I'd be safest with their description). It is a fabulous movie, and proof that the words "excellent" and "chick flick" are not mutually exclusive. Jenna makes fabulous pies, and she uses pie-baking as her therapy and as her creative outlet, the one thing that gives her confidence and orientation in her world. It was one of the first times I was able to see through slow, specific filmmaking how beautiful it can be to create something through cooking, and how baking can be therapeutic for some people. Great films can teach through subtlety how the psyche works. It takes some people years to see that in themselves and others, and it took this movie only 1 hour and 44 minutes.

The movie is tinged with the sad fact that its director, Adrienne Shelly, who also happens to costar in the movie, and wrote the script, was murdered shortly after the movie was finished last year. It is a swan song to her and a genuine sadness followed me after the movie, not because the movie at all hinted to what had happened except in the closing credits, but because it is so rare to find a movie geared toward a female audience that is not pandering fluff or ridiculous fairy tale. This movie was neither, and it is truly a shame to lose any life in such a tragic manner, but especially one that breaks barriers for women such as those. If such circumstances had not arisen, I would be very much looking forward to her next movie. But perhaps it stands as a testament to her that she was able to leave this movie behind, for the rest of us to enjoy and to inspire us to create intelligent, unique art of our own.

"Waitress" is a touching, simple movie that currently outranks all others on RottenTomatoes.com. It should. It is a movie that puts most of the movie industry to shame. And reminds me how doing things well is far more important than doing things big. This movie will get buried by "Shrek the Third", "Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End" and "Spider-Man 3" when it comes to money made and publicity given. But they've got nothing on the tiny little indie that could. See it for yourself, and let me know what you think.