was to Jennifer Aniston: a choice opportunity for a television beauty to flex her thespian muscles. And like Aniston, Russell doesn t disappoint, delivering a fine performance that keeps viewers in her character s corner every step of the way. Russell plays Jenna, who creates killer pies as a waitress for a quaint little diner.
For friendship, she turns to her fellow staffers, the chatty Becky (Cheryl Hines) and the mousy Dawn (the late Adrienne Shelly, who also wrote and directed the film). But for love and affection, she s out of luck, since she s married to a domineering redneck named Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Life with Earl is bad enough, but matters become even more complicated once she discovers she s pregnant.
She embarks on an affair with the new doctor in town (Nathan Fillion) and soon begins dreaming about leaving her husband and starting a new life. Where Shelly excels is in her ability to dig beneath sitcom scenarios and focus on some hard truths that all too often define one s choices in life. Two of the three waitresses engage in affairs while the third ends up with a dweeb who almost makes Norman Bates look like a catch by comparison.
But Shelly never judges these people or their actions, understanding that folks with limited options will often grasp at whatever straws are placed in front of them, as they realize that they have to work with what they ve got (as one character remarks when asked if he s happy, I m happy enough ). Russell is resplendent, but let s be sure to heap copious praise on wily vet Andy Griffith, who plays the diner s cantankerous owner. was to Jennifer Aniston: a choice opportunity for a television beauty to flex her thespian muscles.
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