Still Waiting...

This movie spooked me out to get my act together before it's too late. The only other movie that had done that recently was Joker. It's scary living in this world. I guess it got better, but I wouldn't recommend becoming a waiter based on this movie.

It was a decent effort though. Once you got comfortable, there were hot girls. Same vibe as the first movie. Hooters makes an appearance. So does Andy Milonakis. Struggles of life and becoming a better person. Finding a woman etc.

Nice. Worth a watch some random night maybe.

6 stars

If you've ever worked in a restaurant, then you probably already know that "Waiting..." was perhaps one of the best stress relievers for the job. From the rude, dehumanizing customers, to the sick-minded line-cooks, right down the melodramatic wait-staff, it covered all the bases. And most importantly, it was hilarious front to back and was good for many a repeat viewing. What you may or may not be aware of, though, is that a direct-to-DVD sequel has just been released, simply titled "Still Waiting..."

Written by Rob McKittrick, who also wrote and directed the first film, "Still Waiting..." is really just more shenanigans at the fictional "Shenaniganz" restaurant. Like your typical food-service job, the faces always change, which is convenient, because for this installment, big names like Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris and Dane Cook couldn't be pulled. Aside from a wealth of cameos and bit parts from the rest of the cast of the original flick, this one is filled with all new characters. The film walks a fine line, trying to service it's original audience by cramming as many characters from the previous film in, as well as establishing and developing a whole new cast. Unfortunately, in the case of the new cast, it doesn't pan out so well. Some of the characters work, but are under-developed, such as Tania Raymonde in the role of Amber, or even the slightly larger role of John Michael Higgins as Dennis. Elsewhere, though, the characters serve either a cheap punchline, or are otherwise recycled from the first film. It's sad that a new film with an all-new cast is only enjoyable when players from the last one drop by for a visit. This new cast of characters is, for the most part, bland, unlikeable, unfunny and just plain useless.

Thankfully, the film is still enjoyable, if not a bit redundant. Luis Guzman, Chi McBride, David Koechner, Rob Benedict, Andy Milonakis, Max Kasch and Vanessa Lengies all return, but it is Alanna Ubach -- reprising the role of the in-conquerable Naomi -- who really steals the show. Thankfully, she's a big character in the film, and if it weren't for her return, this movie wouldn't be half as great as it is. Justin Long, pops in briefly to drag down the mood, but to also take a jab at the character he played in the first film, as well as any other film he's been in. Think his character in "Zack & Miri Make A Porno" but more depressed. No doubt, the film is filled with plenty of food-service in-jokes and enough gross-out humor to satisfy, even if it drops the ball on telling an interesting story with it's new characters. Thanks to a returning cast, as well as solid direction by Jeff Balis (who served as a producer for the first film), "Still Waiting..." is a worthy refill. It's nowhere near as potent as "Waiting..." but in comparison to other DTV fair, it's worth watching, if not owning. There's still enough on the menu for those who crave a nice, nasty story revolving around a restaurant, and to that end, it holds up. Definitely in the spirit of the first one, just missing a few crucial elements to make it a classic.

I'm watching this now, and it's terrible. So so bad, and it's written by the same guy as the first one. It's a clone, but much, much worse. The new Ryan Reynolds is just a douche prick (not as Monty, just as a new idiot), Naomi (the girl with the massive... u know) returns but has got worse at acting, Calvin (with the urinal problem) is a totally diff character, the girls at Ta Ta's is a replacement for Anna Farris, and she's terrible, there's an idiot in the kitchen with a fake stupid speech problems, nick and t-Dog return with no point, Justin longs paranoid whiny replacement is equally fake, and there's even a new penis game with vagina's. I think counsellor Bishop is the only character that hasn't been cloned. It's reminds of those terrible later American pie movies. No wonder it's a straight to DVD

It should be law that sequels can only be made by the writers and directors of the original. A sure sign that a sequel is going to be bad is that none of the original main actors want to be in it. (see also Caddy Shack 2) The bit at the end with Justin Long was painful. He obviously didn't want to be there and he left his name off the credits because he was ashamed of the movie. Don't get me wrong, there are a few moments worth watching, like the bit with the busboy rapper. But for the most part it looks like it was written by someone who just didn't get what the first movie was all about.

I was a big fan of Waiting. Even though I've never worked in a restaurant, I could somehow relate to the plights and pitfalls of the food service industry. A lot of that had to do with writer Rob McKittrick's great script. Now, years later, Rob has penned the sequel to his cult classic and the results, though not as satisfying as the original, are better than you might think.

Still Waiting moves the action to a new Shenanigans restaurant where manager Dennis is having some problems. Not only is he having trouble with his personal life, but his restaurant is also facing a crisis. They're losing business to the newly-opened Ta-Ta's Wing Shack next door. So much business in fact that corporate is threatening to shut Dennis down unless he can meet his quarterly expectations. He has one last day to make the $9000 he needs to keep his restaurant open and maybe even get a promotion.

With a new restaurant comes a new cast of characters. There's Agnew - a young waiter who's so sarcastic and hateful that he doesn't even realize he's slowly turning into a racist; His girlfriend, Allison, who just started working at Ta-Ta's; Joshua - a guy who's so overworked that he has nightmares about his job; Hank - the bartender who dreams of hitting the big time with his band; Amber - the waitress working to pay her tuition, and Mason - the young cook with a lisp who's hopelessly in love with Amber. There's also a few returning characters. Like Naomi, in all her spiteful alcoholic glory. And Calvin, who's gone from being a love-struck loser to total ladies man and manager of Ta-Ta's. Other old faces show up as well, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

The characters are, sadly, not near as good as the original Shenanigan's gang. It's no fault of the actor's either, The mostly unknown cast make the best with what they've been given. The characters this time around are just not as interesting. For example, I could've done completely without the Joshua character and would've like to have seen more of the Mason-Amber mini-plot.

The story is a bit weak as well. Whereas in the first film, amidst all the dirty jokes, there was a story about that point in your life where you have to ask yourself "Just where am I going?": Still Waiting doesn't seem to have anything other than the "are they gonna make enough money?" plot. You'd think they would, especially with the new girl at the Wing Shack subplot, but it's just not there.

All in all, Still Waiting has it's moments. It's pretty funny and way better than the majority of direct-to-DVD sequels out there. If you loved the original, you'll probably like this one. Key word being "like".