Fellmans Movie Reviews

RED = SPOILERS: 

Here we have another one of my personal, all-time favorite movies, “Waiting”. Not only because of the writing, and because of the characterization, but because anybody that’s never worked in a restaurant before doesn’t really understand how true this movie really is. Commercial kitchens are tense. People are angry. And not just the customers, but employees as well. Everybody’s angry. Especially cooks. You know why cooks are angry? Because it’s hot in kitchens. I was a cook. I’m angry. It’s hot back there. And then you have everybody yelling at each other. And it all just boils over eventually. (No pun intended…) But there’s always that one thing that will always bring employees together. No matter what their relationship. No matter what their rivalries, or arguments, there’s always that one thing that will unite the people that work in a restaurant. The unbridled loathing of the average customer… They’re literally your enemy. Yeah, you have to be nice to them. Yeah, you have to serve them. Yeah, you have to make their dining experience pleasant. But the hatred… The hatred runs deep, like the Mighty Mississip’… 

What’s it about? Waiting takes place over a single day at a fake franchise restaurant called “Shenaniganz”. The movie has no actual storyline. It’s more a collection of scenes from the various employees that work at Shenaniganz. If there is one main story, it’s probably about Dean, not knowing what to do with his life because a former classmate just graduated from college, and Monty is training the new waiter Mitch. Aside from that, it’s just a round-robin of the random goings-on of things that happen in a restaurant throughout the day. Which, for anybody that’s worked in a restaurant before, is exactly what happens.  

What’s good? Everything. This is one of the most creative and original comedies I’ve ever seen. It’s been in my top five favorite movies list since the day I saw it. I’ve never seen it enough times. The jokes never get old. Even when you know what’s coming, it’s still hilarious. It’s just hilarious to see it.  

What’s bad? I can’t really think of anything. I guess, when Raddimus is explaining the Penis Showing Game to Mitch in the one scene, they cut in and he’s talking about “The Abraham Lincoln” and how you have to shave it, so it looks like his beard. But they never say what the first part of The Abraham Lincoln actually is… That’s always pissed me off…  

The acting? The acting all around is phenomenal. From everybody. It’s not an Oscar-Award winning drama. It’s a black comedy about a fucking restaurant. The people who said this movie wasn’t worth watching were looking for the wrong genre.  

The effects? There weren’t that many effects to be seen, honestly. The most effects there were, was when the camera was sort of speeding around the floor during the dinner rush. Aside from that, it’s a pretty basic movie.  

The cast. There were some pretty big names in Waiting at the time it came out. Ryan Reynolds wasn’t as big as he is now, but he was still a pretty big name back then. Justin Long, Anna Faris, David Koechner, Luis Guzman, Chi McBride, they all had some gravitas attatched to their names when Waiting came out. It wasn’t lacking in star power.  

The customers. Displaying the different types of customers was some fantastic writing on the part of Rob McKittrick. And it’s absolutely true. Tell me you’ve never been in a restaurant and heard some lady yelling at a waitress for some completely inane reason and just thought to yourself “Man, screw that broad…” Waitresses think that same thing a whole lot more often than you do… 

The stories. The main two stories of the movie, Dean having his existential crisis and Mitch, starting his first day and being trained by Monty, are running throughout the entire film. They kind of seep into every other story that goes on. But that doesn’t make the other stories any less important or entertaining. They all matter and are an important square in the tapestry of the story.  

The side stories. Even the little side stories that only get mentioned maybe one or two times are great. Like the scene where Dean and Monty are having lunch with Monty’s mom. That’s a fantastic scene.  

The penis showing game. I’m fully aware that because of how human beings are, that somewhere in America right now, because of the movie Waiting, there is a restaurant where employees play the penis showing game at their place of business… That’s just how people are. Mathematically speaking, there’s somebody out there doing it. People were eating Tide Pods of couple years ago as an internet challenge on TikTok, you know? People will do anything if you challenge or deride them enough. Because humans are stupid… 

So, yeah. Go and see Waiting. It’s one of the best comedies you’ll ever see. And if you don’t like it, well, you’re the problem… Because you need to grow a sense of humor and learn to laugh at funny things… Laughing is healthy. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…