Plot: Jenna (Keri Russell) is a woman who's in an unhappy marriage with the abusive Earl (Jeremy Sisto). She works as a waitress at Joe's Pie Diner, where her job includes creating inventive pies, which are inspired by her own life. Jenna soon learns that she's pregnant and isn't entirely pleased. Her coworkers and only friends Becky (Cheryl Hines) and Dawn (Adrienne Shelly) encourage her to start a new life for herself. Jenna hopes to win a pie contest where the prize is 25,000 dollars. Her life takes another turning point when she meets her new physician Jim (Nathan Fillion) and they start having an affair. Will Jenna be able to have a new life or is she forever doomed?
Review: This is a brilliant film. Firstly, what I like about the film's plot is that it's not entirely cliche. I like that we have a film where we see a woman who is not happy that she's pregnant. It's probably seen as not normal behavior. Women should be happy to be having a baby. But the truth in the matter is that some women aren't always thrilled that they're pregnant and I'm happy that we have some films, such as this one, that shows this side of impending parenthood.
The film has a genius blend of humor and drama. The humor isn't over the top. It's just fun to watch.
The scenes with the pies, where Jenna creates them in her mind and what she calls them is fun entertainment. For example, when she comes up with a pie after finding out she's pregnant and calls it "Bad Baby Pie".
The acting is top notch. Keri Russell is great as Jenna. What I like about Keri's performance is that we're able to have sympathy for somebody that we might not necessarily like. Think about it: she's pregnant and not happy about it and having an affair with her doctor. But Keri's charisma and charm is able to have us draw sympathy towards this character. Jeremy Sisto is completely unlikable as the abusive husband Earl- he's does a tremendous job. Cheryl Hines provides a hilarious performance as Becky. She's the comic relief in this and we need it. Adrienne Shelly is so good as the shy and timid Dawn and provides just as much comedy as Cheryl Hines does. Andy Griffith plays Joe, the diner owner who also tries to encourage Jenna to go to a bigger and better life. He provides humor and wisdom, sometimes in the same sentence and it's very touching to watch.
Adrienne Shelly directed, wrote and acted in this. She was tragically murdered in 2006, before the film was released and it's dedicated to in her memory. I watched the behind-the-scenes footage and Adrienne Shelly put her heart and soul into this and it shows.
This is a funny, touching and entertaining film. The film was well-received critically and in my opinion, is one unappreciated film by fellow movie goers.
Rating: 4.5/5
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