Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Rob McKittrick
Cast :
Ryan Reynolds……….Monty
Anna Faris……….Serena
Justin Long……….Dean
David Koechner……….Dan
Luis Guzmán……….Raddimus
Chi McBride……….Bishop
John Francis Daley……….Mitch
Kaitlin Doubleday……….Amy
Robert Patrick Benedict……….Calvin Robert
Alanna Ubach……….Naomi
Vanessa Lengies……….Natasha
Max Kasch……….T-Dog
Andy Milonakis……….Nick
Dane Cook……….Floyd
Jordan Ladd……….Danielle
Following in the path of Clerks and Office Space, Waiting… wants to be the rallying cry of anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant. But if these are the sorts of folks who work in a restaurant, then it isn’t much of a message.
Waiting… follows a day in the life of a generic restaurant franchise in the vein of a Bennigan’s called “Shenaniganz.” Managed by Dan (David Koechner), the restaurant features a rather diverse group of employees. From the all-knowing dishwasher Bishop (Chi McBride), the foul-mouthed alcoholic waitress Naomi (Alanna Ubach), newbie Mitch (John Francis Daley), underage hostess Natasha (Vanessa Lengies), a pair of wannabe gangster busboys (Andy Milonakis and Max Kasch) and seasoned waiters all with little odd character tics. Mainly, the focus is on Dean (Justin) and Monty (Ryan Reynolds). Dean is a community college student, waiting aimlessly as he tries to fulfill his Associates degree. Monty is the king of the Shenaniganz world; the most successful waiter, he shares a rental with Dean. It’s a day in the life of the staff, as the days unfold from the restaurant opening until its close with all sorts of “whacky” events unfolding.
And with all the ingredients for a great movie in place, Waiting… starts out an inspired note. We meet our characters and their quirks quickly, as the cast is introduced quickly. And for the first twenty minutes, the film looks like it could have the same sort of bite that Clerks and Office Space have. It has all the trappings of having some clear cut, identifiable characters in situations that are easy to understand with some underlying social commentary about youth, adulthood and the strive for the continuation of the former at the expense of the latter. But instead of continuing this theme, writer/director Rob McKittrick doesn’t develop his characters and inserts lots of unfunny gags.
The character development is one thing that just kills Waiting… from going to the head of the line instead of at the back of it. With a diverse cast and a clear focus, the film has the trappings to develop quality characters. After the initial quality character introductions, McKittrick doesn’t do anything with them. It’s a good start with his cast, but there is no follow through as the sort of natural development the main characters, at least, should have is non-existent. What made Dante and Randal so endearing is how they grew as characters; Monty and Dean really don’t do the sort of growth two characters in their positions should. In the end, the sort of climaxes to their day are expected and yet aren’t gripping; when they make their actions its not out of growth, it’s just something they do. There is no emotion to invest in either of them, which is about the same as the comedy involved.
The humor of the movie isn’t anything new, or even funny. Most of the humor consists of recycled gags and bits from movies such as Road Trip and other vapid teen sex comedies from the past ten years. Ryan Reynolds and crew aren’t given much quality humor to work with, and this isn’t a cast that is good enough to get by on that alone. Judging by the lack of any real comedy, just occasional bits and glances of humor, this movie turns into something that could’ve run much deeper than it ends up.
