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Waiting (R16, 93mins) Directed by Rob McKittrick **
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is giving that little bit extra.”
Yes, teamwork is the catch-cry of the Shenanigan’s restaurant chain.
Priding itself on providing top-quality food and service, it encourages its staff to pull together to ensure success. However, they strongly discourage employee relationships, something which is routinely ignored by its predominately youthful workers.
Known for smoking, drinking and generally partying hard, the staff of one particular Shenanigan’s openly flout the rule. Then again, they don’t really care for rules full-stop, barely tolerating their customers, routinely breaching hygiene regulations and only “waiting” to fill in time between parties.
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In case you hadn’t already worked it out, Waiting was the noughties-hospitality equivalent of Kevin Smith’s 1994 low-budget phenomenon, Clerks. As well as being inspired by his own industry experience, writer-director McKittrick borrows Smith’s template wholesale, from the sensitive lead and his anarchic sidekick to two white wannabe gangsters, all talking smack and pop-culture references.
Unfortunately, it all comes across as a pallid homage, a bit like Ted Turner’s attempts to colourise classic movies or Gus Van Sant’s remake of Psycho. Other gags are lifted wholesale from Road Trip (the chef’s revenge) and Swingers (the repeated phone call).
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Justin Long stars opposite Ryan Reynolds in Waiting.
The major problem is the characters just aren’t that strong and the script is, in the words of one character, “one short, punctuated joke after another” with the cast unable to go “five minutes without mentioning their genitalia”.
The talented cast are wasted in one-dimensional roles with only a young Ryan Reynolds given a chance to shine in a wise-cracking role reminiscent of early Bill Murray, Jason Lee, or his cinematic breakthrough performance in Van Wilder three years earlier.
Almost 18 years after its forgettable debut, this is still as routine and bland as the food our protagonists are forced to serve.
Waiting is now available to stream on Prime Video.
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