FOR a film crammed to bursting with vitality and joy, Waitress is tinged with inescapable sadness. Writer, director and actor Adrienne Shelly penned her third feature while she was eight months pregnant, and dedicated her sweet, small town yarn of pastry and maternal angst to her daughter, Sophie. But shortly before the film was accepted to the Sundance Film Festival in November 2006, Shelly’s husband discovered her hanging in their bathroom. Police subsequently arrested a 19-year-old construction worker, who confessed to killing the mother during an argument about excessive noise during building work. The senselessness of her murder hits home most powerfully in the film’s lingering final shot as the fictional heroine, played by the radiant Keri Russell, walks into the distance holding the hand of her daughter, played by Shelly’s daughter Sophie. Waitress is a fitting tribute to Shelly’s talents as a filmmaker. Her picture is a valentine to motherhood and an extremely likeable slice of old-fashioned romantic comedy. The unlikely heroine is Jenna (Russell), a server at Joe’s Diner, who is known far and wide for her tasty bakes. Trapped in a loveless marriage to her selfish husband, Jenna thinks her world has come to an end when she falls pregnant. Struggling to reconcile her fears, Jenna contemplates an extra-marital affair with her doctor while preparing for a regional bake-off with a $25,000 first prize. Verdict: Waitress is a delight, beautifully scripted and directed by Shelly, who skillfully reveals glimmers of hope in Jenna’s bleak predicament. Russell is glorious in the lead role, Fillion is an appealing romantic lead and the array of wackily titled pies look mouthwatering. Bon appetit! | 
