I Can't Have No Affair Because It's Wrong And I Don't Want Earl To Kill Me Pie...

I'm going to take some time out of my normal ramblings to mourn the loss of Adrienne Shelly and her possible contributions to the film world. Two years ago a film appeared on the indie circuit that garnered a lot of buzz, mostly because of the premature death of its director/writer/actress. This film was Waitress and it's director was Ms. Shelly. Shortly before her murder in her New York apartment, the film was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival where the recent news garnered it buzz and gave people the opportunity to view it differently. As it stands alone, the film is comic and serious, real and unreal all at the same time. Knowing the story behind Adrienne's tragic death only makes it all the more poignant.

The premise of this story is a small town waitress who is pregnant with her husband's child. She wants neither the baby nor the husband. Her marriage is loveless and even though she is a "Pie genius," and her friends are either single or have an invalid husband, they would not rather be her. What I personally find most real about the film is not the affair that she has, nor her talent with pies, but rather the behavior of her husband. In all his comic immaturity, he reminds me greatly of some men I know. Unlike Earl, they are not abusive, but still retain that immaturity that makes you wonder how they can function without a mother figure to tie their shoes. It is clear in this film that is what Jenna (the waitress character) is to him. Earl is insecure at best and controlling at worst. He also deludes himself, taking Jenna's admission that she is leaving him as a joke. It is not necessarily that he is a bad guy. Jenna seems to have just been lying down and taking his abuse for so long that it has become commonplace. Despite his tantrums, he seems very devoted to her, just not nearly as mentally developed. I do not blame Earl, but rather Jenna for not standing up for herself in her own marriage and letting certain behaviors be considered acceptable. Though with the birth of her daughter Lulu, she seems to be very devoted to her, one wonders what she will let her get away with. Is Lulu to become a spoiled brat like Earl?