This is the perfect kind of poignant drama, complex romance and sheer, endearing humanity that I keep looking for in every movie I watch. Jenna is a hard-up waitress stuck with her abusive, loutish jerk of a husband in a backwater town and, to cap it all, he just got her knocked up. She hates her life, hates her baby and the only thing that takes her mind off things is baking scrumptious pies, which she gives names inspired by her daily predicaments. Jenna runs into a dapper obstetrician, Dr. Pomatter, who is new in town with his wife and an extremely complicated albeit quite hilarious affair ensues. This is what's so exceptionally good about this movie. It doesn't portray Dr. Pomatter as the knight in shining armor riding in to save the damsel in distress. The affair isn't made to look like the ultimate deliverance from the evil husband. It's just something that happens along the way as the vivacious Jenna threads her way through her dismal life and the pregnancy she couldn't hate more. There's loads of profound discussions between Jenna and her coworkers Dawn and Becky as they, too, explore love and relationships and try to find their place in the world, while dealing with a cranky boss here and a creepy customer there. I won't spoil the ending, but rest assured it's as good as you can imagine. In a nutshell, it's a woman who is powerless but not helpless. She gets slapped, she gets beaten down and she pulls herself up by her bootstraps as she envisions the next pie to bake and cooks up a deeply creative and personal name to give it. And there's also the kindness of strangers - you can always count on the kindness of strangers and the ineffable ways fate can mend your heart and get you back up on your feet.
And Keri Russel rocks, of course!
And Keri Russel rocks, of course!