“Waiting,” entertaining
for both sides
By Bradley Zint
Online Forty-Niner
Opinion Editor
For anyone who’s ever been a waiter, short order cook, dish washer, bus
boy or any other hard-working employee of the food industry, the new film “Waiting” was
made for you through and through. Finally, someone has created a strikingly accurate
depiction of what it’s like to work in a restaurant.
“
Waiting,” written and directed by Rob McKittrick, is not only hilarious
but also remarkably filled with universal, yet true, stereotypes. The plot is
simple enough: Dean (played by Justin Long) is a waiter at an all-too-familiar
restaurant, ShenaniganZ, and has never questioned his life after high school
until learning his high school classmate graduated and has begun a profitable
career. He feels his job and junior college are leading to a dead-end life.
Meanwhile, his co-worker, Monty, (Ryan Reynolds from “National Lampoon’s
Van Wilder”) is in exactly the same situation but could care less. Life
for Monty is good and basically consists of post-work partying and the never-ending
male pursuit of getting laid.
There is also Mitch (John Francis Daley of the “Freaks and Geeks” TV
series), a quiet new employee who, over one chaotic night of work, learns the
ins and outs his eccentric job life.
All of these plots, among others, beautifully intertwine in this clever comedic
script. Highlights of the film include a ShenaniganZ staffwide competition known
as “The Game” that is basically one riotous penis joke after another.
Somehow, the private anatomy of half the earth’s population is still funny
time and time again.
But the real gem of this movie, beyond the great comedic sequences, is the cast
of characters.
Following in the grand tradition of “Animal House,” “Waiting” manages
to incorporate every stereotype imaginable for its particular setting. In the
case of the college comedy classic, the setting was student life.
“Animal
House” contains its beer-binging Bluto and fatso freshman Flounder, among
others.
“
Waiting,” on the other hand, is set in a restaurant. Anyone who’s
worked in one will know this movie hits the characterization dead-on.
Surely every restaurant around contains the following characters, portrayed hysterically
in “Waiting”: the cool, confident, experienced party-man waiter;
the waitress who has worked there way too long and is consequently very, very
irritable; the wise old man figure working behind the scenes who shares grandfatherly
advice and who can recall years of the restaurant’s history; bus boy stoners
who secretly smoke in the meat freezer and get high off various restaurant materials;
an enthusiastic and rather geeky manager; a ravenous cast of cooks who break
every rule of proper food handling; and, lastly, the cute, young hostess who
catches the eye of every heterosexual male employee. Individually, the people
are nobodies, but together their collective ensemble never fails to entertain
and enlighten.
Other aspects of the film that will make it an instant cult classic include clever
use of hand-held camera work, making it appear more like a documentary than a
feature film. Of course, this technique works beautifully because the kitchen
antics do not stray far from the truth.
The music selection, ranging from operatic melodies to modern bands, also underscores
the comedy to help make each joke a success.
Acting wise, Reynolds often steals the scene with his brilliant comedic timing
and improvisation. His performance is similar to his work in “Van Wilder,” so
if you enjoyed Reynolds then you surely will not want to miss this film.
“
Waiting” is a film that should have been made decades ago on a subject
many of us can relate to. Director McKittrick and cast have delivered a fun and
true true-to-life stereotype film that cannot be missed.
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