Date night with the wife last night. Woo Hoo! We went to see the traveling Broadway show WAITRESS, adapted from the movie of the same name. It is essentially about a unhappily pregnant waitress with an uncanny way of baking her dreams and emotions into her amazing pies. And it was utterly charming and enchanting. I can recommend it as an evening well spent. Kept me smiling and engaged from beginning to end.

On the way home, I had the opportunity to think of other movies that featured pies (kinda) in a significant way. Here’s what I came up with:

AMERICAN PIE: A raunchy teenaged sex comedy that was neither charming nor enchanting and yet made a pile of money at the box office. But while the pies in Waitress were mouthwatering, the American pie in this film was clearly aimed at a different part of the anatomy.

LIFE OF PI: A fantasy/allegory about a shipwreck, an Indian boy (Pi), and a tiger named Richard Parker. No baked goods were used but the lead character’s name was similar enough to bring it to mind. And the visuals were breathtaking.

And speaking of that…

PI: A psychological thriller by Darren Aronofsky which, in all honesty, I only watched in part as boredom and confusion compelled me to start channel surfing. But since Pi is the only word in the title, it made the list.

Finally, an oldie but a goodie…

NATIONAL VELVET: Starring Mickey Rooney and a young Elizabeth Taylor beating the odds when they enter their horse in England’s Grand National Sweepstakes. Again, there was no baking going on but the name of Elizabeth’s horse was “The Pie.”

Did I miss any? What are your favorite Pie or Pi movies?

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio of Mount Dora specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.