Before discussing Adrienne Shelly’s assuredly feelgood movie, it’s worth knowing about its feelbad history. The 40-year-old filmmaker was murdered in November 2006, so she never got to see her little romcom wow the crowds at the Sundance Festival.

But while her death never casts a pall over Waitress, it throws up a few ironies and adds an extra layer of poignancy to an otherwise upbeat affair.

Affair is the operative word. Mortified that she is pregnant to her selfish, horn-honking bully of a husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto), Russell’s winsome waitress Jenna is caught in the battle between her hormones and conscience after meeting the cute but equally married Dr Pomatter (Fillion).

After much pussyfooting around, the doctor-patient relationship gathers momentum. It may not be right, but finally, Jenna has something to smile about.

Naturally, the customers of Joe’s Pie Diner are as unaware of Jenna’s infidelity as they are that she names her artery-clogging delights according to her mood (‘I Hate My Husband Pie’; ‘I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie’…).

Romance is also in the air for Jenna’s fellow pie-slingers. But where brassy Becky (Cheryl Hines) is keeping mum about her bit on the side, mousy Dawn (Shelly) can’t put a sock in the ad hoc poetry of her suitor (Eddie Jemison).

Shelly folds the ingredients together with a light, pleasing touch that is – with its occasionally staccato dialogue and dreamy pauses - clearly influenced by her collaborations with indie maverick Hal Hartley. (She was his muse in The Unbelievable Truth and Trust).

And though saliva glands are made to work overtime, Shelly’s confection is almost entirely sugar-free thanks to the winning script and performances (particularly from Russell and TV legend Andy Griffith as the diner’s cranky owner Joe).

An optimistic and consequently ironic epitaph, Waitress is testament to one fact: life is short. Enjoy it.

Elliott Noble