Movie as Mac-n-Cheese

Just like with pies, there are different kinds of movies. Some are huge but empty blockbusters. Others are small, personal statements. Still others try to push buttons. And then there are movies like Waitress that don't appear to have any greater ambition than to be a glimpse at the life of someone different from us. They don't blow you away, but they do go down easy. It's like comfort food. Keri Russell (the fickle pickle herself) stars here as Jenna, a waitress in a southern pie shop diner, who learns she is pregnant with her louse of a husband's baby, and finds herself falling for her obstetrician. One of Jenna's few escapes is pie-making, and she spends much of her time creating different pie combinations that reflect her state of mind (for example, "Pregnant Miserable Self-Pitying Loser Pie" or "Falling in Love Chocolate Mousse Pie." Mmmmmm). Add in two fellow waitress friends (Cheryl Hines and writer/director Adrienne Shelly) and a quirky old guy (Andy Griffith), and you basically have the entire movie. As I said, Waitress is nothing earth shattering, but it is a good, enjoyable slice of life. Russell gives an endearing performance (totally different from how she was in Mission Impossible III) that makes you fall in love with her easily. This is a movie that makes you smile, even if it doesn't make you think, and on a slightly chilly Sunday afternoon, you couldn't ask for much more. I give Waitress a solid B.