Restaurant comedy worth the wait

Gabe Gott

 

Waiting…

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris and Justin Long

Written and directed by Rob McKittrick

Produced by Lions Gate Films

Stater rating (out of four): ***1/2

 

Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant can relate to many of the things that happen in Waiting- and will probably find it hilarious, though everyone else will probably laugh a lot too. The humor is geared toward a college audience.

Waiting- is first-time writer/director Rob McKittrick’s comedy about working at the fictional restaurant Shenanigan’s. The movie is based on his experiences working at different restaurants, McKitrick said in press materials.

The movie takes place over the course of a day at Shenanigan’s. Waiter Monty (Ryan Reynolds of Van Wilder and The Amityville Horror) is given the task of training new hire Mitch (John Francis Daley of Freaks and Geeks) by manager Dan (David Koechner of “Saturday Night Live” and Anchorman). Monty introduces Mitch to all of the other quirky characters.

Head chef Raddimus (Luis Guzman of Traffic and Anger Management) explains to Mitch the rules of “the game,” which is a staff-wide competition to get each other to look at each other’s genitals. Monty’s friend, Dean (Justin Long, of Jeepers Creepers and Dodgeball), is a waiter who feels trapped and has had the realization that he doesn’t want to work at Shenanigan’s for the rest of his life.

Amy (Kaitlin Doubleday of Catch Me If You Can), a waitress, is Dean’s girlfriend, and Serena (Anna Faris of Scary Movie) is Monty’s ex-girlfriend. Natasha (Vanessa Lengies of “American Dreams”) is a hostess who is extremely flirtatious – especially with Monty – but is only 17 years old. Naomi (Alanna Ubach of Legally Blonde) is a disgruntled waitress who – according to Monty – is so angry because she has been working there too long.

Bishop (Chi McBride of I, Robot) is a dishwasher who offers advice to the rest of the staff members. Calvin (Robert Patrick Benedict of Not Another Teen Movie) is a waiter who has a psychological block against using public bathrooms. Floyd (comedian Dane Cook) is a smart-mouth cook; Nick (Andy Milonakis of “The Andy Milonakis Show”) and T-Dog (Max Kasch of Holes) are pot-smoking gangster-wannabe bus-boys who spend most of the movie in the supply room spraying whipped cream straight from the can into their mouths.

All the characters help push the storyline along in some small way, and they are all performed brilliantly by the actors and actresses. The cast works well together: Waiting… wouldn’t be the same with a different cast.

The script was well-written; there was not really any need for improvisation during the filming, Cook said in a conference call round-table.

There was a lot of sexual humor and profanity. “The penis-showing game” was hilarious, especially all the different positions that Raddimus demonstrated. The story of why Calvin can’t urinate in public bathrooms also is quite hilarious.

Waiting- humorously depicts why it is important for customers to not be rude to the people who handle their food – if they don’t want spit and other foreign objects in it. In fact, this movie depicts humorously almost every aspect of what it’s like to work at a restaurant.

The movie was funny throughout, and it was very entertaining from beginning to end.

Waiting… may not be considered a classic like Animal House, but it is certainly comparable to the first American Pie or Van Wilder. In fact, Reynolds’ character is reminiscent of his character in Van Wilder.

Anyone who wants a good laugh should see this movie. It won’t disappoint.

Contact ALL correspondent Gabe Gott at [email protected].