The Waiter

In the past 3 years I have heard a lot of hype about several Houston local low budget films. Due to the hype I had to check them out! All of them didn't live up to the hype, but finally this one did. Now keep in mind when you go to an indie and there is hype it still is an indie with no money. A lot of people hear hype about an indie and they expect Lord of the Rings.

I saw "The Waiter" at WorldFest Houston along with about 5 other films. It was really cool to see parts of Houston used. Other parts of Houston I didn't recognize, but it said it was entirely filmed in Houston. Before I saw the film I really didn't hear much about it. The plot was cool, but the main thing was IT LOOKED LIKE A REAL MOVIE!!! I was like wow, this is a real movie. I heard the budget after the film and was pretty impressed. The acting was really strong and I recognized almost the entire cast from other stuff, including the priest from EveryOne Loves Raymond. There were a couple cool effects that you don't expect on the budget and all in all I would say if you are an indie film buff it is a must see!

After the film the director thanked us all for coming, and shook my hand. He seemed really nice and humble. Which none of the other directors I have met seemed to be. I would highly recommend this film. Don't expect a huge blockbuster action film, but you get a lot of bang for your buck!

Let me just say that if Entertainment Tonight got wind of the budget of this film and the cast it has and the story it tells, they would be running to do interviews with the people behind it. Most every commercial you see has a bigger budget than this film but not a fraction of the entertainment value. I think if it was marketed right it could become one of the biggest profit margins in movie history and people would look back and say, "The Waiter" pioneered in a new era in movie making.

What I really love about the film itself is the way you need to think while you are watching it. If you are one of those mindless zombie types watching a movie, this may not be the film for you. This movie is so deep on so many different levels. It's one of those movies that you will catch something different every time you watch it. I can't wait to see it in the theater again like I did at the World Premiere in Houston.

I met the director via a good friend of mine in Austin. We were able to see one of the last cuts of the film, the director said there was one more round of edits to be made. I typically don't take the time to put my two cents into the world, but we asked him to see the film and I promised I would give him an honest review of the film. Overall the film was very interesting, I am a big conspiracy theory buff. The film requires a great deal of attention and deliberation, but for those who aren't into that there is some flash and a TREMENDOUS amount of killing. The sound had some problems, but he said that that was being taken care of, it didn't strike me as anything that someone with experience couldn't fix. For the budget I thought the film was very impressive, the locations, the look, and especially the cast. I really was pretty blown away by the cast, really well constructed and solid actors. Didn't care for the lead female's acting, but she was eye candy 'enough' for the part. Probably the best part of the film is the story behind it, and the making of the film. I suppose this will get some sort of distribution and they will include the extras about how they made it, and if they do I would recommend that highly. The director talked to us for about 3 hours about it and it put the film in an entirely different light. Judging the film among it's peers that I have seen from the Austin indie world in this budget range, I would say it's a strong 9... or maybe a 10.

This film premiered at Palm Beach Film Festival, which I attended in Boca. I was attracted to this film as a fan of the work of Charles Durning. The film, however, was a far different film than I was use to and expected from him. The festival did a poor job of informing the attendees of what the film was about. The film was very violent and hard. Not at all my cup of tea, I was expecting a film paying homage to film noir from the way it was presented.

I can understand how this might please a much younger crowd, however I found it difficult to keep up with. I will say that the dialogue was clever, acting very strong, and the shot composition was really impressive.

Despite my mixed feelings about the 'raw' nature of the film I have to give it very high marks. The director spoke after the screening and explained the film and it honestly brought my feelings of it to a higher level. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to actually have to think about what I was seeing. It was a refreshing change of perspective, but it made me appreciate what I had dismissed before as mindless killings and vulgarity.

For the amount of money and experience that the director had the film looked very sharp and sent a powerful message.

THE WAITER was a SOLID film with a great and recognizable cast that delivered amazing performances. Totally an underdog that surprised me. I was also impressed with this new writer/director JASON KONOPISOS, I've never heard of this dude but he sure as hell did an excellent job with making the film. Especially after I read about all of the obstacles they faced during the production of the film, I'm amazed with the result. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of this guy's work. Not only does this movie serves it's pure purpose with entertainment but it's interesting as well cause it makes you think. Which this kind of genre of film sometimes lacks, but not THE WAITER.