Anybody who knows anything about the cinematic landscape knows the tragedy of this pic.
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Writer/director/actress Adrienne Shelly was brutally murdered in her New York apartment just after the film was made. Although this will probably be her only memorable legacy on film, what a tribute.
Keri Russell stars as Jenna, who works as a waitress at Joe’s Diner and is in a dead end relationship with nasty husband Earl, when she falls pregnant to him one drunken night. Not wanting the child to be brought up in an abusive relationship, she decides to save money to make her getaway to start a new life. One of the county’s expert pie-makers, she has as small dream of opening her own shop somewhere in rural middle America. Unfortunately Earl finds out about the money around about the same time she starts an affair with new gynaecologist in town Dr Pomatter. So sets in motion a turn of events that lead to Jenna finally making some decisions in her life that only matter to her.
Director/Writer Shelly does an excellent job of conveying small town America mixed with big-town ambition when introducing Nathan Fillion’s Pomatter into the scene. Where the film works is that Shelly doesn’t overdo the sentimentality and gives it a realism that stands it above similar fare.
