Waiting ...

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Cast & Crew

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

Rob Benedict

Calvin

Alanna Ubach

Naomi

Vanessa Lengies

Natasha

Max Kasch

T-Dog

Andy Milonakis

Nick

Dane Cook

Floyd

Jordan Ladd

Danielle

Emmanuelle Chriqui

Tyla

Wendie Malick

Monty's Mom

Monica Monica

Dean's Mom

Travis Resor

Chett

Clay Chamberlain

Video Host

Rob McKittrick

Director

Rob McKittrick

Writer

Thomas Augsberger

Executive Producer

Jeff Balis

Producer

Chris Fenton

Co-Producer

Paul Fiore

Executive Producer

Papussamol Pawatkamolpat

Producer

Stavros Merjos

Producer

Chris Moore

Executive Producer

Jacky Lee Morgan

Line Producer

Sam Nazarian

Executive Producer

Malcolm Petal

Executive Producer

Jay Rifkin

Producer

Adam Rosenfelt

Producer

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Critic Reviews for Waiting ...

Audience Reviews for Waiting ...

• Dec 21, 2018

  I've always thought of myself as someone who doesn't minimize people's jobs. What I mean by that is that just because something looks easy to do (or requires low effort) doesn't mean that it is. This is why I always find it so frustrating when people make fun of professional wrestlers or those of us who do happen to enjoy it. First of all, you try falling on wooden planks (with minimal padding on top) for a living and you'll see how hard it is. Or, the old classic, 'you do know it's not real, right?' Yes, asshole, I know it's not real, now tell me again about how The Last Jedi (a movie that is not based on real life) is an insult to established Star Wars (a completely fake and not real sci-fi franchise) lore. See how that can, easily, be turned around. That's not the point, however, the point is that just because being part of a waiting staff looks "easy", as in people assuming that taking orders is easy, doesn't mean that it is. In fact, I think that waiting can be, quite frankly, a thankless job. Waiters are poorly paid, depending entirely on tips from generous people, they have to deal with assholes belittling them from time to time, not to mention the lunch and dinner rush, etc, etc, etc. I wouldn't want to be a waiter to save my life honestly. And this film focuses on those unsung heroes of the waiting world...or not, at least in this case as the staff (and mostly the cooks) at the restaurant in this film are not the best of the best. I remember watching this film way back when it first came out on DVD in 2006. It was released four days before my birthday, so I probably would have had to have been 18 at the time I did watch it. Honestly, I can't quite remember what I thought of the movie back then. Being that I was still a teen, I probably thought this movie was hilarious, given my more immature nature. Though, of course, a well-written fart joke still gets me these days, so I can't have matured that much. I think what I'm trying to say is that, at 18, I probably loved this movie. But as someone whose tastes have "refined", to a certain extent, this was always gonna be an interesting movie to go back to some time. Honestly, I didn't plan on watching this movie again, but it just so happens that yesterday was that night that I did watch this again. I'll say this out of the way, I can see and understand how this movie has a cult following, because I'm under the assumption that almost every movie in existence (particularly smaller films like this one) has some sort of a cult following, but I get it. I can see the appeal of the movie. The casting is great. That doesn't just mean it's in reference to the talented actors on display, but I mean in that the cast manages to capture that feeling that they actually all work together and that they're always as wild and rowdy as they are in this particular day. I don't think many workplace movies are able to capture that feeling. I just think the nature of the movie being so raunchy adds to the believable connection the cast has. It's not a deep connection and they're constantly giving each other shit for one reason or another, but there's something of a lived-in quality with these cast of characters, like they were working together long before we just happened to catch them on this day. I feel that adds a lot to the movie and it's probably one of its most underrated factors. I think it's easy to look at the movie's comedy and dismiss the cult following, but I feel that the casting has so much more to do with that following than most people might give it credit for. With that said, however, there really isn't much to this movie. As far as 'story', there's nothing to speak of outside of Dean realizing that he wants his life to be more than just a waiter or assistant manager, as Dan has offered him the position. But, realistically speaking, the movie puts in the barest of efforts with this character arc and it's not really all that satisfying. Dean is only 22 and they're trying to sell his struggles to figure out what to do with his life as something that's gonna define the rest of his life. I mean, technically, it is gonna define the rest of his life, the point I'm trying to make is that Dean is still very young and he still has time to make something of himself if he decides that waiting is not for him. As far as 'character development' that's all there really is to this movie. The rest of it is just little skits that take place throughout the day. Calvin can't pee in the public restroom, Raddimus and Danielle have sex all the time, there's this penis-showing game where, in quite retrograde fashion, make fun of the other guy for being a homosexual for looking at your penis, then you proceed to kick him in the ass, Monty is trying to have sex with a seventeen-year-old girl (who turns 18 in a week), Naomi is always angry, Bishop helps everyone with their issues, Mitch can't get a sentence out without anyone interrupting him, etc, etc, etc. There's no real structure or order to anything, it just moves from scene to scene. This scene is about the penis-showing game, the next scene might be about Monty trying to fuck Natasha. The only thing that's connecting all of these skits together is the fact that they're taking place in the same restaurant. And that's not even the biggest problem, because I'd be fine with that if I found the movie to be hilarious but, sadly, I don't. I think the film's biggest problem is the fact that it is absolutely fucking desperate to make you laugh. I think the film's raunchiness isn't a result of the script, organically, heading in that direction, it just feels incredibly forced and unnatural within the context of this movie. Well, I mean, maybe it really isn't that unnatural within this film's context, but the film is clearly desperate for attention and every scene attempts to grab your attention with one gross-out gag after another. Some of the work, a lot of them don't. I imagine that this is what a lot of fans like about this movie, its raunchy gags, but there's ways to do it correctly and this movie does it about, say, 45% correctly. Like I said, it's a movie that is desperate for your constant attention, so they'll throw everything AND the kitchen sink, ironically enough, to get even the slightest chuckle out of you. I suppose it's better that the film tries hard than not, but every joke in this movie is some form of sex, dick or fart joke that is slightly re-arranged in order to keep things fresh. It gets old after a while and sometimes you just want there to be actual humor in the film. More cursing, more sex, more dicks, more pussies does not always equal funnier and this film is the perfect example of that. You have to know how to pick and choose your spots and not just go all in as this movie did because, honestly, it gets a little tiring after a while hearing the same one-dimensional characters spout the same one-dimensional jokes. And this is still a movie that I actually found decent even with all its flaws. I guess I liked the tone of the movie and the casting above all else. The cast, quite clearly, seemed to have a blast filming this and that always translates well. It's just that the movie's desperate nature, lack of structure or an actual narrative arc held it back for me. Maybe I'm just over-analyzing the movie too much. All I know is that this movie tries way too hard for it to only amount to an average experience. I'm sure the film's cult following loves this movie and I'm not trying to take that away from them, far be it from me to tell you what you can or can't enjoy. But, for my money, I didn't think this was a good comedy so, therefore, I wouldn't recommend it. Decent, at best, but this is nothing more than that.
  

  jesse o Super Reviewer
• Oct 03, 2013

  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]
  

  Super Reviewer
• Dec 05, 2011

  <i>"What happens in the kitchen ends up on the plate."</i> Young employees at Shenaniganz restaurant collectively stave off boredom and adulthood with their antics. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Waiting couches its tale of debauchery with the narrative thread that it's the first day for new trainee Mitch (John Francis Daley), who never gets to say a word the whole day because people are too busy commenting on the place to allow him to speak. We see that almost every employee pretty much hates the restaurant (which felt very realistic to me, especially for a gross comedy), yet they revel in one another's company even while attempting to set one another up. For most of the guys, this revolves around a game where you try to trick the other males in the restaurant into looking at your exposed genitalia. This sounds particularly juvenile and gross, and yet writer/director Rob McKittrick manages to get a number of genuine belly laughs out of such an absurd and grotesque game. It helps that Guzman, Reynolds, and the rest of the boys in the kitchen play their roles with such gusto, as if it really were the most important thing in their day to expose themselves to the others (and with this crew, it actually is). There are a lot of gross gags in this film (one was so bad I actually gagged watching it), so be warned, and the humor is exceedingly blue. But the movie is surprisingly sharp and funny, and there's a joke at the end which is hilarious; it's been building for the whole film and yet you never realize it until it's revealed. Waiting is far from a perfect film - it runs a little too long, and some of the characters at times veer into cartoon territory, but it's also a very funny movie with more than a few running threads that pay off several times. It's certainly worth a viewing if you can stand the ribald subject matter.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Nov 29, 2011

  Despite it being more gross than humorous, as far as comedies go, "Waiting" qualifies.
  

  Super Reviewer