Emmanuelle Chriqui Movie:

Editorial Review:
The bitter, vengeful world of waiting tables gets the Clerks treatment in Waiting.... A new employee (John Francis Daley, Freaks and Geeks) gets trained at Shenanigan's, a banal theme restaurant where the bored employees play a game of flaunting their genitals. The staff includes a snarky waiter (Ryan Reynolds, Van Wilder, The Amityville Horror) who lusts after the underage hostess; a waiter suffering from crippling pee-shyness (Robert Patrick Benedict, Threshold); an oracular dishwasher (Chi McBride, Roll Bounce); and a conflicted waiter named Dean (Justin Long, Dodgeball), who's just been offered a promotion to assistant manager--a job that offers more money, but threatens to trap him at Shenanigan's for the rest of his life. Waiting... is a loose shamble of a movie--the only thing resembling a story is Dean's life crisis--but that's part of its charm. It's a tricky thing to depict tedium without being tedious, but Waiting... pulls it off; some jokes smack of forced sitcom writing, but most of the humor feels genuine, as if it came from writer/director Rob McKittrick's personal experience. A future cult film. Also featuring Anna Faris (Lost in Translation), Luis Guzman (The Limey), and rabidly adored stand-up comic Dane Cook as..a cook. --Bret Fetzer

Waiting... Reviews:
The Cardinal Rule: Don't F*** with people that handle your food.
2009-11-28 - Few movies drive home a point as sharply as this one does. Yep, I will never, ever be mean or angry with a waiter or food preparer again.

"Waiting" is definitely one of those F*** Bomb a minute, gross out sexual humor sort of movies. But what makes it stand out from the majority of these usually brainless and nearly unwatchable movies is the sharply written script by first time writer/director Rob McKittrick. McKittrick knows his subject, as he was writing from personal experience. The characters are well fleshed out and recognizable, and the dialogue is quite funny and intelligent. The ensemble cast - Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, and Justin Long among them - do a great job.

As others have already mentioned, "Waiting" is like "Office Space", in that it is a movie focused on one peculiar micro-culture of our modern society. Instead of Cubical-ville, the characters live in the world of those familiar chain restaurants with the ersatz instant "history" and "character" stuck to the walls, where the waiters gather at your table to sing "Happy Birthday". Think T.G.I.F. or Bubba Gump, more upscale than Denny's or Carrow's, less upscale than Macaroni Grill (the local one here has someone, usually the head waiter or a cute girl, sing "Happy Birthday" in Italian, as an aria).

And, I now appreciate so much more the budget steakhouses like Ponderosa/Bonanza that show you the cooks grilling the steaks right in front of the customers. Great idea, all restaurants should do that...

Yes, this movie is what happens after the "coming of age" movie, when the kids leave the comforts of home to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. Have you noticed how the people in these sorts of jobs are usually young, usually turn over constantly? It's a way station in life, the entry point into the cold, hard, realities of our fiercely competitive society.

Be kind to them all, while they figure it out...

Waiting on DVD
2009-10-16 - Excellent quality product. Got it in a timely manner. FUNNY movie too, if you haven't seen it.

Item arrived promptly and in the condition as described.
2009-09-04 - The item arrived promptly after I ordered it and it arrived in the condition in which it was described.

A well-done review, small portion, made to order
2009-07-24 - For what it is, Waiting is a perfect movie. It's outlandish comedy. Are there obnoxious people in it? Of course, but there are obnoxious people in real life, and it feels good to laugh at them once in a while and maybe see a little of yourself in an obnoxious character. Could it be more clever? Of course, but in a movie like this, too much cleverness would be too clever by half. For those who would want or expect more cleverness, have you never acted ridiculously silly and thoroughly enjoyed yourself? How would it be if, after your silly jag, some nitwit says, in all seriousness, that you could have been more clever? Neither is this film "formulaic." The story is structured around employees at a restaurant, so yes, it dishes out jokes you would expect. But then, a concert pianist is formulaic for performing the standard repertoire.

Like any good "teen angst" movie, this one has something to say to "grown-ups" and parents as well. It's just that everything is exaggerated to the point of absurdity, which makes it "safer," perhaps, for us to think about the underlying messages. Oh yes, there are messages in this story, even if it doesn't take itself too seriously. I recommend this movie, as well as American Pie, which happens to be my favorite teen angst movie.



Ryan Reynolds is absolutely hilarious!!!
2009-07-05 - This movie caught me by complete surprise. I had seen Reynolds in some other parts (Blade 3, Amityville remake) and found him pretty funny and interesting. I could not stop laughing half way through the movie. I went out and bought to watch again. A must see for any Reynolds fan. I will never make my waiter/waitress angry again! The story is great and the supporting cast is very good also.