Nathan Fillion

WAITRESS has a lot of buzz around it being the last movie Adrienne Shelly directed and starred in before she was murdered last year. The screening was packed.

At times like this I was worried there would be a sort of bullet-proof shield around the movie if it wasn’t any good. People will want it to be good just out of respect for Shelly, which would mean, if the movie was bad, I would have to keep my mouth shut around people gushing about it.

Luckily for me, the movie was not only decent, it was really good. Awkwardness averted.

The flick is about a waitress (believe it or not) at a little diner/coffee house type place. Keri Russell plays Jenna, the lead. She’s miserable in her marriage to an absolutely despicable Jeremy Sisto. He’s the worst kind of man, controlling, full of himself, insecure, abusive. Jenna’s only escape is her pie-making. She invents pies and gives them names appropriate to her life. At the very beginning of the movie she finds out she’s pregnant and immediately thinks up a "I don’t want a baby" pie.

Nathon Fillion pops up as the charming, funny and loving Dr. Pomatter. Of course, being the polar opposite of her husband, Jenna falls for the (married) doctor and sparks fly. She discovers a side of her life she thought was dead.

Cheryl Hines and Shelly herself co-star as Jenna’s friends and co-workers and they’re all quirky and good. However, the bright shining bit of casting in the movie lies with the owner of the diner, Old Joe. Andy Griffith. I can’t put into words how great it was seeing him in this movie. He’s a full blown supporting character, not just a day-player. And damn is he funny and sharp. He’s a bit crotchety and has an edge to him, which I didn’t expect when I saw his name pop up in the opening credits.

The flick is entertaining, tragic, but hopeful. It really swings from lightheartedness to some really dark material. It’s a good final movie and it’s a shame we, as movie-goers, won’t get to see more.