'Waitress' - Adrienne Shelly (2007)

A film that looks set to become an indie classic; Waitress is a warm, kooky comedy about a pie-baking diner worker who embarks on an affair with her charming doctor when she discovers she is pregnant by her insecure husband.

Keri Russell (best known for MI:3 and TV?s Felicity) plays the title role in the last film from young writer / director / actress Adrienne Shelly, who heartbreakingly died before this film gained acclaim as a Sundance selection in the US. Russell carries the film beautifully, playing for laughs as easily as she induces the audience?s tears, and always reflecting a familiar feeling of reality in the surreal turns the film occasionally takes.

Playing opposite her is Nathan Fillion (TV?s Firefly, Serenity), an actor so charming and natural that I dare you to not fall in love with him for at least part of this film. He plays disorganised Dr Pomatter, who seems so at odds with Jenna?s no good husband that it?s obvious he?s a good guy despite his shifty marriage-related morals (which many characters in this film share).

Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under) infuses his part as Jenna?s immature husband Earl with a tense, desperate energy. He brings a menacing edge to the role that grounds Jenna?s desperation and upset about their impending parenthood, as well as fuelling her escapist dreams about new pies she can bake and competitions she can enter.

Many women will identify with Jenna?s horrified feelings towards her impending motherhood; she sees kids as brats that ruin mother?s bodies first and then their lives. At work she turns her nose up at them in disgust, but in an effort to bond with her growing bump Jenna begins to write ?Dear baby?? letters to explain her feelings during pregnancy to her child.

The supporting actors are also well cast; Shelly herself plays a key part as Dawn, one of Jenna?s fellow waitresses as well as Becky, played by Curb Your Enthusiasm?s Cheryl Hines. This double act start as quirky caricatures and grow into characters whose lives you truly care about as the film progresses. Their stories are developed as Jenna?s is, which allows humorous subplots when her story gets more serious.

Waitress is a sweet film with a bitter edge. The cast are brilliant and the story is warm and funny, with just enough angst to become moving when it needs to be. Surreal moments throughout the movie ensure this is not a typical rom-com, and hints at the interesting career Shelly could have developed if she was still here with us.