Waiting...

I hated (HATED!) being a waitress, but this movie is so hilarious and so ballsy that it almost makes me want to go back to the summer of 1999 to work one more shift at TGI Fridays. Waiting is the best, most accurate, most honest, and most riotously funny movie ever made about the service industry. Here's how I see it – the world is divided into two groups of people: those who have waited tables and those who haven't. Those who have never worked a day of their lives in a restaurant may find this movie amusing, but they'll think it's too absurd to be real, and they'll probably never give a second thought to this movie ever again.

But those of you who have felt the pain, degradation, and humiliation of waiting tables will p**s your pants laughing at how PERFECT this movie is. First-time writer/director Rob McKittrick has created a dead-on depiction of 24 hours in the restaurant biz. The movie opens at a late-night party with lots of underage drinking, smoking, and sex. Then we see the wait staff hung-over at work the next day. The restaurant they all work at is called "Shenanigans," but it looks an awful lot like the TGI Fridays I worked at.

All the characters in Waiting are based on the real people who work in every restaurant. There's the hot/slutty/underage hostess, the fat and ugly cook who somehow dates a really hot waitress, the stoner/punk bust boy, and the manager with the chip on his shoulder. All the customers in this film (the cheap red necks who don't know how to tip, the b****y women, the drunk and horny men) are all customers I've waited on. And no filmmaker has ever so accurately portrayed the complex and irreconcilable tension between the wait staff and kitchen staff.

But at the end of the night, no matter what drama unfolds, no matter what dishes brake, and no matter how much money you make in tips (or don't make), everyone gets wasted and parties together, and you all know you're in it together. Waiting simply tells a story about a profession that most people never give a second thought to. But it tells that story flawlessly. Can't wait for the DVD.

To the people who have never worked a day in a restaurant, this movie is NOT for you. To the people who go to a restaurant and treat the staff like $hit, This movie is NOT for you either. Trust me, save yourself the realization of just what you've REALLY eaten, cuz your life will be much better if you never find out. For everyone else, this movie is perfect. Its never going to win any awards, and doesn't even try to. From the 5-second rule to the intermingled sex lives of the staff to the retarded manager, this movie hits the nail right on the head. It seems like someone in Hollywood finally got some money to throw around and decided to pay homage to his life before being "Someone" in Hollywood. I laughed till i cried through the first 30 minutes and the rest of the movie was just as good. It's destined to become a cult classic for anyone in The Industry and will definitely be on my bookshelf the day it comes out. As long as you go in only with expectations of being grossed out and laughing till it hurts, you will not be disappointed!!

When I first saw previews for this movie, I expected a soulless comedy about restaurant staff messing with customers. Although some people may feel that way even after seeing it, I was pleasantly surprised. From the introduction of 'the game' near the beginning of the movie, I knew this was going to be more interesting and even more disturbing than the previews.

Despite what appears to be rather thin characterization, 'Waiting' succeeds at being a good character-driven movie. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps what seem to be just childish antics add depth to the characters without us realizing it. Some people complain that 'the game' is a 10 second gag stretched out for the entire film, and on the surface, this is true. However, the game is really more of a mechanism for developing characters than anything on its own. The result is a set of very flawed, but surprisingly likable characters. Also, the ending, though a little abrupt, is entertaining largely because the movie does a good job of setting up the characters and situation.

This movie is not for everyone. If you do not like 'stupid' humor, then you will probably not be able to overlook that to enjoy the more subtle aspects. However, once you get past that, this movie is more than the sum of its parts.

I remember that when this movie came out in theatres, people didn't really know what to expect. And of coarse the movie bombed in the theatres. Well when I bought this movie, I watched it and realized that it is accurate, very funny and over really good. I have worked in a restaurant myself and I know all the sick things that some chefs would actually do. This movie just goes in depth on a day-in-the-life, of normal people working in a small restaurant. It shows when the day begins, all the way to the end of the shift. Another thing about this movie that made it so funny was a game that the men of the restaurant played. This game involves making somebody "unwillingly" look at their package down below. Well as you can see, the movie is hilarious and I definitely recommend it.

Perhaps one of the most relatable movies I'e recently seen would have to be the 2005 cult indie comedy Waiting...with Ryan Reynolds. Marking the directorial debut of former restaurant worker turned filmmaker Rob McKittrick, the movie was not well received critically but did well enough at the box office to garner a cult following. Looking on it nowadays, this is one of the most relatable comedies I've ever seen speaking as a former restaurant worker.

The movie centers around the restaurant staff at ShenaniganZ who all go about their lives differently. There's the clueless boss Dan, the smooth talking lead guy Monty, the young guy Dean who feels like his life is passing by too soon, the flamboyant waiters, raunchy cooks, and eccentric bus boys with all their bizarre personalities. Anyone who has worked in this type of restaurant environment will be able to relate to many of the character's frustrations and insecurities, including the pressure of facing a job opportunity you don't want like assistant manager, putting up with college door room pranks in the kitchen, dealing with miserably petty customers who care less for the staff than their food, and general rage venting up from years of back breaking labour with little change in scenery. The movie is arguably at its funniest when it depicts these scenarios and it's all the more enjoyable as a result.

Now since this film was made when the post American Pie gross out shock genre was still going on in adult comedies, some of the film does often rely on juvenile humor that can range from disgusting to borderline homophobic to even questionable by today's standards. Considering that there is a subplot relating to Monty and Dan hitting on the soon to be 18 year old hostess Natasha, much of the content outside of the waiting and food prep scenarios might leave a sour taste in people's mouths depending on your sense of humor. Fortunately, the general cast consisting of Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Robert Patrick Benedict, Luiz Guzman, Chi McBride and especially Alanna Ubach as the foul tempered waitress Naomi and Dane Cook as the crudest cook Floyd make up for any gag that goes nowhere they're so funny in the film. It's saying how relatable these characters when the quiet trainee Mitch gets his time to shine at such a crucial point in the movie's third act.

As this is a fairly low budget indie flick, the actual filmmaking is most reliant on standard editing to keep the flow of transitions smooth and reliant on the lunch and dinner rushes. In addition, the actual food shown throughout the movie looks appetizing enough to warrant future viewings solely for the cuisine alone, even during otherwise grossly contaminated punchlines. Of course, being a mid 2000s adult comedy, the soundtrack will instantly be dated yet fun to listen to, as nearly every number fits the scene well enough without feeling distracting. Perhaps some scenes can feel a bit too abrupt to let the song sink in on first watch, but you'll still get a bang out of the soundtrack regardless. Without feeling too try hardy in its content, this feature feels right at home as a time capsule at a time when you could get away with a lot more in adult comedies than you can nowadays.

Yeah, Waiting...is as crass and juvenile as any other raunchy comedy of its time, but its central restaurant setting lets the story, primary humor and characters feel far more relatable and endearing than they could've been from a lesser setting. Sometimes, the best way to make these kinds of movies work is if the filmmaker themselves actually worked in those environments, at least so the audience won't have to. I'd say it's worth at least one viewing after nearly 20 years later, much like when you try out any other restaurant you'e never been to.