There’s an underlying deep seated sadness behind every smile in the late Adrienne Shelly’s “Waitress.” Many would like to think it’s the sadness present in this world that these characters occupy that is littered with homegrown kindness and pie, but really it’s the sadness left behind by Adrienne Shelly’s terrible murder while making “Waitress.” Shelly though, has left behind an interesting legacy, one that left behind a child, a blossoming career, and a film that’s sweet and comfortable yet never mediocre. “Waitress” isn’t an overbearingly cutesy drama about a girl living independently, and learning to live through the process of making pies, it’s actually a nice little slice of life that pools the collective talents of folks like Nathan Fillion and Keri Russell turning what could have been a disgusting commercial dramedy and turning it into a dignified coming of age flick very reminiscent of masterpieces like “Amelie.”

She is forced to endure a rude and often inattentive husband, and once her pregnancy comes to light, she realizes that her life has become unfulfilled. She wants to turn her hobby into a profession, and soon brand new avenues begin opening in the way of a handsome and caring gynecologist (played with great humility by Fillion), doctor Pomatter, who is assigned the care of Jenna, who refuses to find any joy in her pregnancy and gives him quite a hard time of it when he attempts to display sincerity toward her situation.

Fillion’s performance is the highlight among others. He’s boyish, funny, and often times very quirky, playing wonderfully off of Russell. Shelly provides a love interest that jumps off the screen and clearly is ruled by his infatuation with Jenna. Russell is absolutely charming in this role that finally makes use of the talents that she’s capable of. And that’s thanks to Shelly’s great screenplay that’s peppered with sharp one-liners (“Your lip stick is smudged like you got a good one”) and characters that act as comedic relief and are never reduced to one note gags on screen to make us laugh. Shelly has truly left behind a sincere and awfully sweet nutshell memoir of being a single mother and coming to grips with a new life to care for. She views this impending baby as a mere inconvenience and yet another obstacle preventing her from breaking free from the clutches of her possessive husband who has her pinned down in a wave of manipulation, intimidation and inevitable physical abuse.

The climax seems just much too convenient to buy. The little twist with Jenna’s friend Joe in the hospital, his surprise for her and the basic way Earl is relieved of his purpose is all just so hokey and pat. Shelly undermines the novel approach with twists that are just much too predictable to sit through. Particularly the subplots involving Shelly’s wedding with a secret admirer, and Becky’s surprise love interest at the pie shop. It’s just all so old hat and corny that it almost dragged down the story into made for television territory.

This is definitely a chick flick that you can feel good watching be you a man or a woman. The late Adrienne Shelly has left behind a beautiful legacy of a great career, and a tender memoir in spite of the caveats that nearly drag this down into made for television hokum. Fillion and Russell are wonderful, the screenplay is top-notch, and “Waitress” avoids all pitfalls revealing itself to be more clever than we think, in the end.

• Director Shelly was tragically murdered while making "Waitress."

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