Customer Reviews
wow, this is trash 
2008-06-03
There were parts of this movie that could happen in real life, but for entertainment, there were some things that needed major repair. For instance, nobody would've fallen in love with the doctor (he's so forgettable I forgot his name already) and then things started getting predictable when Jenna and the doctor met every time. I wish I had never seen this film....EVER! This is what I get for giving independent films a try.....
A Directorial Mess... 
2008-05-28
I thought that this movie would be ok... I never expected the quality of Citizen Kane. Not at all, but from beginning to end, this movie was a mess... There are several takes that are totally flat, they never convey the idea that the director was trying to transmit and other takes just didn't make it at all... they became a mystery to solve, with questions we asked ourselves after watching those strange moments: What was this about?? This events happened constantly...
The idea of those colorful pies are just trying to get you to an attempted flashback of "Like water for Chocolate" but in a neon-fantasy way. The house of the waitress looks quite big to try to convince you that she and her husband are kind of tight in money. The direction suffers the whole time, the script feels truncated and all the way to the end, things never got better. I would try to find another alternate selection if you are planning on spending money in this movie wreck.
Another Critically Acclaimed Film that I Hated 2008-05-25
The film itself was OK, but I just couldn't get over the dynamic of the doctor character---not to mention the waitress his accomplice. What a b-stard that guy was. That character ruined the whole movie for me. That guy, and the super creepy glasses guy.
Encouraging 
2008-05-23
As the average person she is unhappy with how her life has turn out. She has made some bad choices. She learns just what the old man was saying and makes the right choices. I loved the characters. I think a lot of people can relate in one way or another, and be encouraged that their life too can change. There are a lot of different things to learn with the waitress. Great movie overall.
I didn't like Jenna 
2008-05-15
I find it hard to enjoy a film where its entire framework is centered around affairs, adultery, broken marriages, and trying to make it all appear comedic. From the very beginning we know that Jenna hates here husband, that is made very clear, however its not made clear why. I watched an aloof, closed off woman show resentment, anger, and even disgust to her husband whenever he spoke or even touched her in the first part of the movie. Why? They don't say why, later they do, but not in the beginning and by that point I already had a low opinion of her, because she's also pissed off over being pregnant and having an affair with her doctor who apparently is happily married. I can't like these characters, they're so selfish! The ending is sweet, because Jenna finally got her act together, but it wasn't enough to make this film great.
MORE LIKE A TV MOVIE THAN AN INDEPENDANT FILM 2 1/2 STARS! 2008-07-13
Watching this film felt like déjà vu, it reminded me of a superior film called 'The Prize Winner Of Defiance Ohio' released a couple of years ago. The film is easy enough to watch, but most of the characters are "cookie cutter" with no real depth to them. It's an OK watch though with good performances by Griffith and Russell.
Like a perfect pie, mixing unusual ingredients has a delicious result 2008-07-06
I remember hearing good things about this 2007 film. I also remember hearing about the violent murder of its writer/director Adrienne Shelly in her Greenwich Village office shortly before the film was released. Knowing this, watching this film had a bittersweet sadness about it. The word "bittersweet" is a good word to describe the film as well. It's actually tagged a "comedy/drama/romance" and that it is, although the comedy part is not "laugh out loud" but the "chuckle" kind that lifts the drama above the plight which the heroine is experiencing. This independent film defies categorization and has won quite a few awards.
The heroine, Jenna, is played by Keri Russell. She's a young woman with a gentle disposition who works as in a small town southern diner as waitress and is married to a bully of a husband. She's unhappy in her marriage and becomes even more unhappy when she becomes pregnant. Her women friends at the diner sympathize with her and add a little humor to the situation. Dawn (played by the director/writer herself, Adrienne Shelly), is shy and unattractive until she meets a man who adores her and constantly writes bad poetry to honor her. Another fellow waitress, Becky, is married to an invalid husband and is driven to an affair with her sour faced boss. A theme of the film is that Jenna is an expert pie-maker and specializes in mixing unusual ingredients with a delicious result. This is also the theme of the film. And it works beautifully.
When Jenna goes to the doctor regarding her pregnancy, she discovers that her female gynecologist has retired and that a young attractive male doctor has taken her place. There's immediate chemistry between Jenna and the doctor and soon they are embraced in a hot romance of their own. He's married too and they are both confused about this but can't seem to stop. In the meantime Jenna is getting more and more pregnant and her husband comes across as more and more of a brute. The owner of the diner is played by Andy Griffin. He gives a fine performance as the elderly gentleman who eats breakfast at the diner each morning and gives very demanding orders to the waitresses. He soon befriends the unhappy Jenna and even finds out about her affair.
How this all plays out is a masterpiece of writing. None of it seems contrived the pacing of the film makes it flow. There wasn't one moment that I was bored, which is very unusual for me, especially in a "comedy".
Needless to say, there is a happy ending and I was smiling at the end of the film.
Loved it! 2008-06-29
I rented this back in the spring and absolutely fell in love with it. I watched it four times before I had to bring it back, but I'm about to order my own copy. Light, sweet, and funny. Adrienne Shelly did a wonderful job!
It's not that I wouldn't recommend it, but 2008-06-22
every time I was enjoying the movie that idiot husband character reentered the picture and for crying out loud did he have to be the complete stereotype of the psycho husband? The doctor too was w/o much depth. If not for Andy Griffith's character, I would have assumed that the writer simply hated men. I'm only glad that I could watch this at home so that I could fast forward the husband's scenes and take an occasional break.
Keri Russell, though, can easily carry a movie and I enjoyed the pie metaphors of life. Unfortunately, the movie suffered from having male actors in the two main roles who are simply t.v. types (I'm guessing, I have no idea what their other roles have been). Too bad Andy Griffith could not have schooled them on the finer points of acting, but I'm guessing that he did his shots and left.
Baby don't you cry, I'm gonna make a pie. 2008-06-19
I always sing that song in the kitchen when I make pies for the family and friends. This is a really nice movie about a young waitress in a pie shop who gets pregnant by her abusive husband. She's reluctant to tell him that she's pregnant, but when she finally does, he demands that she promise that she will not love the baby more than she loves him. And even though she hates his guts, she makes that promise. But does she keep that promise? NO! How does she escape that marriage? Find out in this wonderful movie.
