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The Life and Legacy of Adrienne Shelly
The incredible artist, woman, mother, and dreamer
The 2007 movie Waitress, starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion, has always been a comfort classic of mine. It tells the story of a young woman named Jenna who is trapped in an emotionally — and sometimes physically — abusive marriage to a man named Earl. As she’s preparing to run away, squirreling away the meager tips she makes at her waitressing job, she discovers she’s pregnant, complicating her escape plans. Over the course of nine months, we follow Jenna as she drowns in a miserable marriage, has an affair with her OB, and comes to terms with giving birth to a baby she does not initially want, all while expressing her emotions through baking pies and writing letters to her yet-unborn baby.
The movie is at times funny, yet sad; bitter, yet heartwarming. With every rewatch, I laugh at Jenna’s unique names for her pies (my personal favorite is “I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby” pie), at Mozart playing as Jenna finally succumbs to her attraction to Dr. Pomatter and kisses him, at the oafish (but sweet) Ogie’s attempts to win Dawn’s heart by reciting spontaneous poetry. I cry at every scene where Jenna is beaten down by her husband’s controlling manipulations, and when the curmudgeonly Joe gifts Jenna with a $200,000 check to help her leave her husband before slipping into a…
