Waiting (2005) Movie Information:

Waiting (2005) Directed by: Rob McKittrick Waiting (2005) Written by: Rob McKittrick Waiting (2005) Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Kaitlin Doubleday, Alana Ubach, Vanessa Lengles, Chi McBride, Luis Guzmán, John Francis Daley, Robert Patrick Bennedict, Andy Milonakis

Waiting (2005) U.S. Distributor: Lionsgate Waiting (2005) U.K. Distributor: Momentum Pictures

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Waiting (2005) Synopsis:

A waiter for four years since high school, Dean (Justin Long) has never questioned his job at Shenanigan's. But when he learns that Chett, a high school classmate, now has a lucrative career in electrical engineering, he's thrown into turmoil about his dead-end life. Dean's friend Monty (Ryan Renolds) is in exactly the same boat, but he couldn't care less. More concerned with partying and getting laid by underage girls, Monty is put in charge of training Mitch (John Francis Daley), a shy new employee. Over the course of one chaotic shift, Mitch gets to know the rest of Shenanigan's quirky staff: Monty's tough-talking ex-girlfriend, Serena (Anna Faris), Shenanigan's over-zealous manager, Dan (David Koechner), and head cook Raddimus (Luis Guzman), who's obsessed with a senseless staff-wide competition known only as "The Game"...

Waiting (2005) Movie Review:

For what's essentially a raucous, gross-out comedy, this is a surprisingly tame film. While writer-director McKittrick indulges in plenty of outrageous antics, he plays it fairly straight as a filmmaker, refusing to take any real risks.

On his first day as a trainee, Mitch (Daley) tags along with wiseguy waiter Monty (Reynolds), who teaches him the secrets of the trade, including how to get even with vile customers and how to play pranks on coworkers. This involves doing unspeakable things to food and flashing genitalia, respectively. Their colleagues include the worried Dean (Long), sassy Serena (Faris), angry Naomi (Ubach), befuddled Amy (Doubleday), self-doubting Calvin (Benedict), a jailbait hostess (Lengies), two rude chefs (Guzman and Cook) and a therapist-dishwasher (McBride).

The cast is up for anything, and they dive into their characters, clearly enjoying the chance to be as raunchy and vulgar as an R-rating will allow. But audiences looking for There's Something About Mary excess will be frustrated by the way McKittrick continually steps back just when things get truly nasty, almost like he's directing a network-TV movie with cable-TV dialog.

At the centre, Reynolds gives another of his goofy, eye-popping performances, again catching his character's insecurities underneath the raging bravado. Although this just makes us wish he'd stop making these dim-witted movies and put his skills and screen presence to use in something good for a change. The normally hilarious Faris is also rather wasted, with no storyline to speak of. At least Ubach gets a hysterically funny character to play. But subplots are limited to the boys--Long's hangdog soul-searching, Koechner's dorky boss, Benedict's inability to use a public restroom, Guzman's relentless efforts to flash everyone else.

It's efficiently filmed, and energetic enough to keep us laughing. Some scenes are uproariously funny, while others are a bit lame. McKittrick seems happy to rely on obvious gags, which keeps the film from being a truly memorable comedy. But there's also a strong feeling that this is closer to what it's like working in a restaurant than anyone would like to admit. And it'll make you think twice before you abuse your waiting staff.

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Waiting (2005) review written by: Rich Cline