Waitress is a quirky film about a poor woman trapped in a small town. Pushing Daisies is a new TV show about a pie maker that's quirky. In comparison, Waitress has no mystery, a muted palette and no narration.
Keri Russell plays Jenna who's married to a horribly self-centered abusive loser named Earl (Jeremy Sisto). She works as a waitress at Joe's Pie Diner with her friends Becky (Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (writer/director Adrienne Shelly). At the film's opening she finds out she's pregnant and isn't thrilled about it. The baby will prevent her from following her dreams of escape by earning money in a pie contest. Nathan Fillion is the new OB/Gyn in town and he and Jenna have an adulterous attraction for each other. Jenna's sole release is inventing new pies and giving them fun names like "Marshmellow Mermaid Pie", "I Hate My Husband Pie" and the "I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie".
The film is mostly odd conversations between Jenna and her friends about their jobs or miserable husbands. Dawn starts dating a persistent nerd, Jenna serves Joe (Andy Griffith), the diner's owner who demands everything be exactly as he specifies, Dawn wants Jenna to make her up pretty for her 5 minute date, etc. It's peculiar that much of the dialog seems forced and the situations contrived, yet the characters are likable. I laughed a few times and was mildly entertained.
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