Mouth watering pies, infidelity, and unwanted pregnancy is on the menu in Waitress, a charming, brutally honest film which focuses on one woman's cold and cynical dread at the prospect of becoming a mother.

Keri Russel stars as Jenna, a pregnant waitress who invents delicious pies and is unhappily married to domineering husband named Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Not happy with her pregnancy - and virtually given up on the aspect of true love - Jenna had intended on entering a pie baking competition where the top prize is $25,000, using the money to run away from her husband.

With her plans knocked back for another 9 months, Jenna instead embarks on an affair with the new town practitioner, Dr. Jim Pomatter (Nathan Fillion). The film also focuses on the various characters which inhabit Jenna's workplace, such as fellow waitresses Becky (Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (Adrienne Shelly), and the diner's cantankerous but wise owner, Old Joe (Andy Griffith).

Writer/director/actor Adrienne Shelly (who was unfortunately murdered prior to the films premiere) has created a great movie which unabashedly looks as the clash between happiness and traditional moral values in the conservative south of America.

Keri Russel gives a great, sympathetic performance as an oppressed woman finding her independence, a self described anti-mother, whose spirit has been crushed by her husband (played frustratingly well by Jeremy Sisto.) The viewer falls for her charms big time, so much so that all you would want to do is reach inside the screen and give her a big hug. Russell displays excellent comedic and dramatic skills, and also comes off as a credible on screen cook.

Nathan Fillion is very good as the talkative ball of nerves who wins Jenna's heart.

This is one of the best feel good movies of the year, with Andrew Hollander's sweet lullaby melody setting the mood extremely well. If this work is any indication, than Adrienne Shelly would have certainly been an important filmmaker with a bright future. Sadly, we will never know what could have been.