The movie Waitress, by Adrienne Shelly, is a timeless film that focuses on the struggles of an American woman who, despite living her passion of making pies, is stuck in a horrible marriage and ends up pregnant with no money to leave her husband and an affair with her obstetrician. The film tackles two very large topics, feminism and motherhood, and reflects on these ideas through the metaphor of her pie baking.
Throughout the movie, Jenna, played by Keri Russell, struggles with the reality that she is pregnant with her pathetic excuse for a husband, Earl. She constantly is reminding herself and the audience that “I don’t want no baby!” Yet we understand that her relationship with her mother was always loving and one of the best aspects of her life. It’s likely that she simply doesn’t want Earl’s baby, considering he is a horrible human being and from the scene when he finds out she is pregnant, we know that he would not love the baby the way he should. He insists that if they were to have the baby, Jenna has to always put him before the baby and that she can never love it more than she loves him. But with a more in depth look at her life, it’s possible that she’s worried she won’t be able to provide the support her baby needs. First of all, she wants nothing more than to leave her husband which would mean relatively no money for raising a child since she works for little pay at a diner. And second, for the majority of her life she has been without a mother. Jenna could be worried about doing what her mother did to her. Granted she harbors no distaste for her mother given that she only ever speaks fondly of her and the passion for pie baking they shared. On another note, it is feasible that Jenna fears bringing a baby into this world based on her experiences in life. She, herself, doesn’t even have her life together. In the end of the movie Jenna has her baby and the moment she gets to hold her baby, she instantly understands what’s important to her. She tells Earl to leave and that she wants a divorce. Despite the fact that she had decided to stay with earl this whole time for the baby, this was essentially her first act as a mother. By her telling Earl to go, she is putting her baby’s needs before her own in that the baby deserves a happy mother more than anything else.
A large part of the movie is about Jenna’s affair with Jim Pomatter, played by Nathan Fillion. The moment they meet it is love at first sight. However, both are married. Granted, Jim is happily married, although upon meeting the love of his life, Jenna, he feels as though he isn’t. Jim’s character is so important in Jenna’s journey through her pregnancy because not only is he a mental/emotional support for her, but a physical one. Him being her obstetrician is a symbol for his saving her, or rather ability to. Jenna fantasizes about the idea of leaving her husband and having a doctor as a husband to help take care of her baby. In fact, it isn’t until she actually has her baby that she even considers his wife’s involvement in the situation. Jenna’s primary concern has been how to get away from earl with a baby on the way and Jim as the perfect solution. When she finally has her baby, she sees the love Jim’s wife has for him and her commitment. She admires that and now that her boss as his dying wish is to give Jenna the diner, she can leave Earl without concern and she doesn’t need to rely on Jim for support. All her love can be reserved for her new baby.
Jenna’s pies are an overarching theme and metaphor for her life. This passion for inventing and baking pies, specifically new ones, comes from her mother. When Jenna was a little girl, her and her mother would bake pies together. Throughout the movie, there are moments when Jenna becomes lost in thought as a pie recipes just comes to her. We are taken to this external image of a pie being crafted as Jenna narrates the ingredients. It is quite obvious that these pies are to reflect her emotions and serve as a physical representation of how she is feeling. Some people might play music or write poetry to express themselves. For Jenna, this process is baking. She has no other outlet for her emotions.
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