Waitress

Jenna thinks in pies.

“I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby” Pie
… Quiche of egg and brie cheese with a smoked ham center

“I Hate My Husband” Pie
… You take bittersweet chocolate and don’t sweeten it. You make it into a pudding and drown it in caramel…

“Baby Screaming It’s Head Off In The Middle Of The Night And Ruining My Life” Pie
… New York style cheesecake, brandy brushed, pecans and nutmeg…

“Earl Murders Me Because I’m Having An Affair” Pie
… You smash blackberries and raspberries into a chocolate crust

“I Can’t Have No Affair Because It’s Wrong And I Don’t Want Earl To Kill Me” Pie
… Vanilla custard with banana. Hold the banana.

“Pregnant Miserable Self Pitying Loser” Pie
… Lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in. Flambe of course…

from the movie Waitress.

I was gushing about the movie to a friend and he told me that Adrienne Shelly, writer and director of the film, died long before the movie was out for release.

Adrienne Shelly

She was murdered sometime in November 2006. The movie was already in post production by then and was accepted for screening at the Sundance Film Fest 2007. I learned later that she’s the woman who played Dawn in the movie, who happens to be my favourite character.

From L-R: Becky (Cheryl Hines), Jenna (Keri Russell) and Dawn (Adrienne Shelly)

Watch the film and you’ll understand why. I would have been itching to play Dawn’s part too. Shelly said that Waitress was a love letter to Sophie, her daughter. She was eight months pregnant at the time and deathly afraid of having a baby. All of this was channeled unto the script. Knowing all this made the movie all the more significant with all that macabre. I liked it. It was honest and funny. It’s a drama-comedy that won’t insult your intelligence.

p.s. Miss Cheryl H, you need to watch this and we need to make pies, pronto.