Posted: 10/22/2005

Waiting…

(2005)

by Clint Fletcher

Last week I wrote an article about how the Fall season is mostly nothing but a wasteland of bad movies. Even through the dark times of our own lives we must hold on to those precious bright spots that lead us to the road of sunshine. Many believe I was born a poet, others claim it to be luck. Nevertheless, Waiting… is one of those bright spots that holds us over until the Christmas season.

I don’t know how many times I can say this but Ryan Reynolds rocks! The dude just oozes with talent and comedic energy, and nothing pleases me more than to see this guy get the leading status he deserves in this flick and the upcoming comedy Just Friends next month. Ryan, contact the site. I’ve tried to get an interview with you for months! Once again he steals the show here, but at least he has some talented back-up. We have Anna Faris and an Army of hot girls to stare at, Dane Cook and Luis Guzman to laugh at, Justin Long to give us a pinch of drama and Andy Milonakis to annoy the shit out of us. Throw in some B-movie actors, an extremely low budget and a hilarious plot and you have a formula for a cult classic comedy. For those of you out there who have ever worked in a restaurant-whether it was waiting, cooking, busing tables, hosting or managing- this movie is for you.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Monty, a 20-something immature goof ball who is the king of his domain- a restaurant called Shenanigans. While Reynolds handles most of the jokes, Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball) takes care of the drama in the form of Dean, a smart lad who is depressed at how everyone his age is graduating college and being successful while he’s stuck at a damn restaurant. While multiple plotlines arise, the viewer is taken through an 8 hour day at Shenanigans all the way through the busy dinner rush. As my friend Dave put it best, this is the most realistic depiction of a restaurant staff I have ever seen. The cussing, the fake smiles, the penis game, the bitchy customers, the evil cooks that fuck up your food, the annoying “last minute” party, the feeling of failure, the manager that thinks he’s hot shit when in reality he’s a joke- these are all sure to bring back memories of some place you’ve worked at in your lifetime. I, for one, am a cook at a restaurant right now and this is the first movie to ever get it right. I was on the ground in tears during the kitchen scenes because it was so realistic. That’s how we really act! I’m sure others will feel the same, especially waiters. And what’s so great about the script is it never over-steps its boundaries. It never moves beyond the simplicity of the happenings in the restaurant and turns into a film about something else. It stays right where we want it to stay, and in the end you’ll be laughing so hard you’ll forget all about the hooker you spent all your money on the night before (or maybe that’s just me). I only have two minor complaints.

First, I felt that comedian Dane Cook could’ve had a bigger part as he is one of the funniest fuckers on the planet right now. But alas, this is Reynolds’ show and he runs it well. And secondly, Andy Milonakis should stick to annoying TV. He doesn’t have a single humorous line in this entire flick and he just bugged the shit out of me with his cliché “wigger” attitude along with his thug partner. Maybe it was the writing of his character but I wanted to claw my eyes out every time he was on screen. But oh well, the dude is thirty in real life and in five years no one will know he exists anyway.

Excluding The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Waiting… is the funniest comedy of the year and is destined to become a cult-classic for young adults. If you dig movies like Clerks and Office Space or have EVER worked at a job you hate, this flick is sure to tickle your funny bone and even have you thinking twice about fucking with the people that serve your food.

Clint Fletcher is a film critic in Chicago.

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