Waitress (2007)

Brief: Jenna (Keri Russell) finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, putting a kink in her plans to leave her husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Despite the support of her best friends (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly), Jenna feels more and more depressed about the prospect of bringing a child into the world. She finds herself confiding in Joe (Andy Griffith), the crotchety owner of the pie diner where she works, and falling for her new doctor (Nathan Fillion).

When I saw the trailer for this movie prior to The Lookout, two things occurred: 1) the lovely young lady seated to my right said, upon seeing Fillion, "Hey, it's Mr. Sexy!" I was forced to agree, as Nathan Fillion is, in fact, very sexy. 2) I remembered it was Adrienne Shelly's final film, and I was sad. But we went to a special sneak peek anyway (gift bags!).

And now I feel sad that there are a limited number of Shelly pictures left for me to see. Her writing and direction are so hilarious and honest and off-kilter, and I wish there was more of it to go around. I wish she could go on balancing terrible things with funny things and making the juxtaposition seem fresh. I wish someone else would think to put Felicity with Captain Mal. I wish a lot of things.

It's been a long time since Felicity was on the air, and it's easy to forget how wonderful and natural Russell was in the role. As Jenna, she is just as fresh-faced, but her innocence is gone. Jenna's a woman who has gone without happiness for a long time, and the only moments when her worry and anxiety melt away are the moments when Jenna closes her eyes to create a new pie. It is then that something magical plays across Russell's face. It makes us believe, however briefly, in the possibility of stepping outside ourselves.

Although the chemistry wasn't as fiery as I would have liked, Russell is well paired with Fillion, who manages to hit that exact right mark of when a man in a hurry finally realizes he has time for a deep breath. It's shocking enough to almost take his breath away, and Fillion relays that split-second with aplomb. Romantic comedies are a dying breed, but Fillion's confidence and levity give me hope for the future.

Alright, so Russell's accent's a little spotty, and some of the stuff is obvious, and no one talks like Griffith (even if his little speeches did bring tears to my eyes every damn time). It's supposed to be sweetly fanciful. It's ridiculous, to be sure, but it's the kind of ridiculous where you smile despite yourself. B+