A Slice of Joy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Big summer blockbusters not your thing? Disappointed over and over again by sequels that fail to deliver? Forget the latest installment of Shrek or\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/2007\/06\/a-slice-of-joy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Slice of Joy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Big summer blockbusters not your thing? Disappointed over and over again by sequels that fail to deliver? 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{"id":91,"date":"2007-06-04T09:53:16","date_gmt":"2007-06-04T17:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/?p=91"},"modified":"2007-06-04T09:53:16","modified_gmt":"2007-06-04T17:53:16","slug":"a-slice-of-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/2007\/06\/a-slice-of-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Slice of Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"waitress25.jpg\"$ <\/a>Big summer blockbusters not your thing? Disappointed over and over again by sequels that fail to deliver? Forget the latest installment of Shrek<\/em> or Spiderman<\/em> and go see Waitress<\/em> instead. This delightful little movie will no doubt be the surprise hit of the summer season and should end up being one of the better films of the year.<\/p>\n

Adrienne Shelley (who was tragically murdered before her film ever made it to theaters) directs this film about a young waitress, Jenna Hunterson (Kerri Russell) who makes pies of \u201cBiblical\u201d goodness. Unfortunately, this aspiring pie champion is locked in an emotionally and physically abusive marriage to Earl (played quite despicably by Jeremy Sisto). Jenna\u2019s situation worsens when she discovers that she has gotten pregnant \u201cthe night Earl got me drunk.\u201d She wants nothing to do with this pregnancy or this child; however, she refuses to have an abortion. Jenna soon develops an affair with her attractive new OB-GYN, Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion). The movie largely centers on Jenna\u2019s attempts to leave a destructive husband while trying to balance her affair with Dr. Pomatter, a potential avenue out of this oppressive marriage.<\/p>\n

Waitress<\/em>\u2019s strengths lie in a wonderful script greatly enhanced by some outstanding performances by everyone involved. Thankfully, all of the actors nail their southern accents, a rarity in most contemporary films set in the South. Adrienne Shelley and Cheryl Hines play Jenna\u2019s co-waitresses, Dawn and Becky. In what should be an Oscar-nominated performance for supporting actor, Andy Griffith plays Old Joe, the owner of several business in town including the pie shop where Jenna works. On a side note, there seems to be a trend of old male actors playing randy old characters these days from Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine<\/em> to Peter O\u2019Toole in Venus<\/em> and here with Griffith whose lines include, \u201cI made sweet love to [that woman] all through the summer\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waitress <\/em>is not a movie for the guys, and it does not place marriage on a pedestal\u2026two things for which I am extremely thankful, even as a happily married man. What is there to affirm in Jenna and Earl\u2019s marriage? Anyone that would condemn Jenna for her affair with Dr. Pomatter or any religious or social system that would further imprison her in that oppressive marriage should quite simply be damned. Old Joe encourages Jenna to make the right choice and to start fresh, and even in her affair with the good doctor and the conclusion of the film (which I will not give away here), she does.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, though Earl is despicable, we cannot only see him as \u201ca selfish, juvenile jerk whose piggish, controlling behavior makes everyone wonder how lovely, sweet Jenna ever got near him,\u201d like Teresa Bundasi does in her review of the film for the Chicago Sun-Times<\/em>. Jenna makes a passing comment that Earl was not always so bad, that he had changed after their marriage. Moreover, Earl clearly has some psychological and emotional issues that beg further analysis and medical attention\u2026away from this marriage of course.<\/p>\n

In the vein of Babette\u2019s Feast<\/em> or Chocolat<\/em>, Waitress<\/em> yet again shows the spirituality of good food and cooking.\u00a0 Though the film could have explored this a bit more, it is evident that baking is therapeutic for Jenna and that her pies are nothing short of a blessing to those who eat them.<\/p>\n

Waitress<\/em> is simply a wonderful film in which it is clearly evident that everyone took pride in being a part of it. In the midst of all the action filled bonanzas this summer, we have in Waitress<\/em> a life-affirming film that stands in stark contrast to the tragic ending to Shelley\u2019s life that preceded her film\u2019s release. Though it suffers from a fifteen-minute lag, and some viewers might <\/em>question Jenna\u2019s liberation and the implication of motherhood in bringing it about, it is hard not to walk away from this film with a great sense of joy.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"