The 2025 Sundance Film Festival officially ends Sunday, but local film lovers who want to maintain the spirit can check out The Lost Gems of Sundance monthly screenings at the Summit County Library.
The series continues with Adrienne Shelly’s romantic comedy “Waitress,” rated PG-13, which premiered in 2007 at Sundance.
The film will screen at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Kimball Junction Branch, said Destiny Grose, who, along with Rick Brough, came up with the series.
“A lot of people say it’s a comedy or it’s a romance, and then I noticed someone called it a serio-comedy,” she said.
Grose, a Summit County Library assistant, pitched the idea to screen “Waitress” to Brough.
“I wanted something that was pretty accessible,” she said. “I think a lot of people may have seen it, but it’s such a charmer and they are happy to revisit it.”
Grose confessed she has repeatedly watched the film, which stars Keri Russell as Jenna, a pregnant and unhappily married waitress who meets a newcomer that inspires her to find happiness.
“She is so great in it,” Grose said about Russell. “I’ve always liked her because she can be so subtle at times.”
Grose, in fact, enjoys the film’s entire cast.
“Jeremy Sisto plays the loudish husband,” she said. “You hate him but also feel sorry for him. And it’s because he’s a loser but he doesn’t realize he is. And Nathan Fillion is so good, too.”
Grose highlighted Andy Griffith, whose name is Old Joe.
“He played the quirky, grumpy café owner who just loved the pies Jenna makes,” she said.
The pies are symbolic in that each reflects Jenna’s emotions.
“For a few seconds throughout the film, the pies become the biggest stars,” she said. “And food porn will always make things better. The way they styled the pies for this movie was so smart, so interesting.”
Another reason Grose suggested “Waitress” is because it would screen in February, Valentine’s Day month.
“Of course, you certainly want something that is a little more touching during that month, and this is a well-balanced movie that is so full of pathos and happiness,” she said. “I think it’s a great film to rewatch, and I would never tell people to watch a movie that I would never rewatch.”
Although the film is charming, the story of filmmaker Shelly isn’t, Grose said.
When the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 17 years ago to a standing ovation of 1,270 people, Shelly wasn’t in the audience because she had been murdered a few weeks prior at her apartment by a construction worker.
“She had been so happy that her film would be at Sundance, and she had been making plans to attend because it was her lifelong dream,” Grose said. “So when Keri and (Shelly’s husband) Andy Ostroy walked on stage, the audience burst into tears.”
The film made an impression on Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Sara Bareillas, who created a Tony Award-nominated musical version that premiered on Broadway in 2016, according to Grose.
“A majority of people may know it as a musical but not know it’s based on a film,” she said. “And then the musical was made into a film, and we have both versions on DVD at the Summit County Library.”
After “Waitress” screens, the next Lost Gems of Sundance film in the pipeline is Tom DiCillo’s 1995 satire, “Living in Oblivion,” on March 6.
The film series, which started on Dec. 2 with John Sayles’ 1980 film, “Return of the Secaucus Seven,” has been successful, Grose said.
“People are enjoying the series because it’s their chance to see something different,” she said. “Some of the people who come to the screenings are cinephiles and movie people. So there’s a camaraderie there, and our Library Director Dan Compton has been making popcorn.”
The Lost Gems of Sundance Series: ‘Waitress’
- When: 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6
- Where: Summit County Library Kimball Junction Branch, 1885 W, Ute Blvd.
- Cost: Free
- Web: thesummitcountylibrary.org