thedudebryant It seems obvious that most "professional" movie reviewers never worked in the service industry. This movie captures the quirks of food service. The inside jokes and the ridiculous customers they have to deal with. It's a fun film.

John Brooks This is a comedy that sets one tone immediately, and stays true to its motto throughout while consistently delivering the humor from start to finish: from the first seconds, to the very last drop of footage, even during credits. It's very silly, and some rare parts are a bit forced, but if one would just go along and enjoy the ride as a whole, surely there's some good to be found and not just in patches but throughout. At least a few characters will make you laugh just for who they are, and as a gang there at Shenanigans restaurant, they're quite a troop of awful fiends. The interesting thing here is the main plot is actually completely camouflaged into the various and constant developments in the story; mostly insignificant but hilariously at that; and it only comes out clear and unleashes with a fury divine at the very end, and serves as almost a sort of twist on the entire movie itself like a meta-thing, like the movie craps on itself. All in all, there's a special feel to this film, it is surely NOT like its neighbors and brethren however similar to them it may look on the outside. Lots of good laughs, tons of diverse funnily written characters each with a comedic angle, a bit of life lessons even - and that sort of a casual, cozy feeling, like we know those Shenanigans idiots. A good, funny, easy comedy that you might find becomes a personal favorite. It grows on you.

siderite A small restaurant is the place where the movie happens, from start of the shift to its end. We have a "rookie" who will help us understand the goings on, a Ryan Reynolds who is happy to be a waiter just in order to be the coolest guy of the bunch, a Justin Long who wonders where his life is going, a Luis Guzmán who invented this ridiculous penis-flashing game to increase morale and a bunch of semi-known people who lend their talents to this film.The problem with the film is that it is purely character based, therefore we need to find the humor in the very personalities of the people shown. There is no action, no real moral to the story, just a bunch of people doing their thing. And even if Ryan Reynolds is his usual funny self, Justin Long is more of a lead than he is, a strange choice for a comedy considering his character is mostly tragic. Also, in order to "make it funny", you have the extra weird characters that lend humor, but subtract plausibility.There were some genuinely funny moments, but most of the time I was Waiting (sorry, couldn't help it) for something interesting to happen. I would say the movie did what it set out to do, but not very well.

Adam Foidart "Waiting..." is a disturbingly accurate reflection of the life of a restaurant crew aimlessly working their way through the daily routine and entertaining themselves with their puzzling in-jokes and communal resentments. The movie is an exaggeration of what goes on behind the scenes… but It's really not that far off. It's not so much that the characters or events in the movie are made-up as much as you would probably have to pool together the craziest stories and characters from 5 different restaurants to get the ones featured here. Having worked in a couple of restaurants operated mostly by teenagers and young adults, I can tell you that I experienced some stunts that were almost as insane as the ones pulled here. I'm even ashamed to say that I recognize some of the characters in the film as being some of my own co-workers from when I was in high school. What doesn't work is the gross-out humour. When it's over-the-top ridiculous it's funny, but when it's realistic and food related, it's just foul and will make you want to turn the movie off in disgust (and certainly if you're eating, you're appetite will vanish quickly). If you can get past the… unappetizing portions of the picture and if you've ever worked at a job that in retrospect you really hated, you're bound to laugh hard at this comedy. (On DVD, October 8, 2012)