Waiting... (2005)

Director:

Rob McKittrick

Writer (WGA):

Rob McKittrick (written by)

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

No one's gonna make it big here.

Plot:

Young employees at Shenaniganz restaurant collectively stave off boredom and adulthood with their antics. |

Plot Keywords:

Hostess | Cook | Food | Customer | Gay

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
Rob Benedict	...	Calvin (as Robert Patrick Benedict)
Alanna Ubach	...	Naomi
Vanessa Lengies	...	Natasha
Max Kasch	...	T-Dog
Andy Milonakis	...	Nick
Dane Cook	...	Floyd
Jordan Ladd	...	Danielle

MPAA:

Rated R for strong crude and sexual humor, pervasive language and some drug use.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Ireland:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | UK:15 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Australia:MA | Malaysia:18SX | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Eden Rock Media

Trivia:

As an April Fools' Day joke, director Rob McKittrick and actor Luis Guzmán staged a "diva fight" on set. During the filming of the scene where Calvin imagines his co-workers cheering him on at the urinal, Guzmán pretended to ditch a line from the script in favor of his own line. The fight was so realistic that the other actors on set became very uncomfortable and quiet when Guzmán "stormed" out.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Raddimus is in the bathroom stall having sex with his girlfriend, she covers his mouth with her hand. In the close up, his mouth is not covered.

Quotes:

Redneck: I'll have a shot of whiskey and a double shot of whiskey. She'll have a water. Ah, hell, it's our anniversay. Why don't you bring her a Pepsi.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Forrest Gump (1994)

Soundtrack:

Inspection (Check One)

Austin Movie Show review

I hated (HATED!) being a waitress, but this movie is so hilarious and so ballsy that it almost makes me want to go back to the summer of 1999 to work one more shift at TGI Fridays. Waiting is the best, most accurate, most honest, and most riotously funny movie ever made about the service industry. Here's how I see it – the world is divided into two groups of people: those who have waited tables and those who haven't. Those who have never worked a day of their lives in a restaurant may find this movie amusing, but they'll think it's too absurd to be real, and they'll probably never give a second thought to this movie ever again.

But those of you who have felt the pain, degradation, and humiliation of waiting tables will p**s your pants laughing at how PERFECT this movie is. First-time writer/director Rob McKittrick has created a dead-on depiction of 24 hours in the restaurant biz. The movie opens at a late-night party with lots of underage drinking, smoking, and sex. Then we see the wait staff hung-over at work the next day. The restaurant they all work at is called "Shenanigans," but it looks an awful lot like the TGI Fridays I worked at.

All the characters in Waiting are based on the real people who work in every restaurant. There's the hot/slutty/underage hostess, the fat and ugly cook who somehow dates a really hot waitress, the stoner/punk bust boy, and the manager with the chip on his shoulder. All the customers in this film (the cheap red necks who don't know how to tip, the b****y women, the drunk and horny men) are all customers I've waited on. And no filmmaker has ever so accurately portrayed the complex and irreconcilable tension between the wait staff and kitchen staff.

But at the end of the night, no matter what drama unfolds, no matter what dishes brake, and no matter how much money you make in tips (or don't make), everyone gets wasted and parties together, and you all know you're in it together. Waiting simply tells a story about a profession that most people never give a second thought to. But it tells that story flawlessly. Can't wait for the DVD.