Waitress

with Keri Russell

Viewed February 9, 2008

The movie was about a waitress who was a genius about creating and baking pies. In fact, the pies were so tantalizing that we stopped the movie mid-stream and sent a willing participant out to Marie CallendarŐs for a blueberry cream pie, which was nearly decimated by the time final credits were rolling on the screen.

Because of the movie's main character's husband's jerk-y behavior, we spent the first part of our discussion talking about how we've handled jerks in our life (Questions 11 and 12), agreeing that getting out of relationships with people who seem like jerks can be extremely helpful, but also acknowledging that sometimes so-called jerks may have something to teach us about ourselves and our reactions.

Then we talked about what helped us change our lives and feel empowered (Question 9). Sometimes it was some hardship imposed by the circumstances in our life that seemed to give us no other choice but to change. At other times, a realization or insight from inside gave us the courage and empowerment that we needed in order to be able to change. Either way, the changes were often difficult. Nevertheless, they seemed to produce a much better life when we did them with consciousness and clarity.
(This video was reviewed by Bob McGarey)

Feel free to come and share your own personal insights sometime; the Saturday Night Video and Discussions here in Austin, Texas are a lot of fun and fascinating. (They're free, too.) Here are the questions the group came up with, based on the personal growth themes in the movie:

WAITRESS

  1. How positive or pessimistic am I about relationships?
  2. How do I deal with my problems -- by running away or what?
  3. How do I choose my relationships?
  4. What makes me happy?
  5. What do I look for in a relationship? Do I look for a lover or a friend?
  6. What do I believe about life or love?
  7. What have my choices cost me?
  8. When have I been happiest?
  9. What life events gave me empowerment?
  10. How have people helped me change my life?
  11. Who in my life has not been a consistent jerk?
  12. How have I handled jerks?