One out of
Five stars
Running time:
94 mins
Poorly directed, depressingly dull comedy with hardly any laugh-out-loud moments – a waste of a talented cast.
What’s it all about?
Ryan Reynolds stars as Monty, a 22 year old slacker who’s been working at a bar / restaurant called Shenaniganz ever since he graduated from high school. Put in charge of new trainee Mitch (John Francis Daley, from Freaks and Geeks) for the day, he introduces him to his fellow employees including Anna Faris and Justin Long. Not forgetting the twin joys of working at Shenaniganz, namely doing disgusting things to the food of obnoxious customers and playing pranks on co-workers.
The Bad
The main problem with the film is that for a gross-out movie with a 15 certificate, it’s remarkably tame. It seems unusual, for example, that the film’s biggest sub-plot practically demands comedy nudity and yet, there isn’t any.
First time writer-director Rob McKittrick has assembled a decent comic cast, but he gives them practically nothing to do. Reynolds and Anna Faris were hilarious together in Just Friends, so it’s a shame that their talents are so wasted here, only Luis Guzman seems to be really enjoying himself.
The Worst
To make matters worse there’s no real energy to the film and it’s severely hampered by its lack of a decent plot. A romantic element would have been a considerable help.
To be fair, there are a couple of mildly amusing moments, but nothing to really get excited about – the best part of the film is the made-up rap song sung by two minor cast members over the end credits.
Worth seeing?
In short, Waiting is something of a disappointment. The jokes (such as they
are) fall horribly flat and we never really get to care about any of the characters. You’d have more fun actually working in a restaurant. Probably.