Movie Review: Still Waiting

I'll be honest: If I weren't a waiter, I probably never would have seen Waiting... And if I had, I probably would have chuckled once or twice, before dismissing it as just another raunchy comedy aimed at the rude MTV demographic. But the gods are cruel, and I am a waiter, which made me love every minute of Waiting... beginning with the first few scenes which sent several elderly people shuffling for the theater doors in disgust.

Since then, I've seen it perhaps half a dozen times. I have the DVD box prominently displayed on a shelf. And I've attempted to elevate the film to cult status via constant references. I felt that Waiting... portrayed certain aspects of my "career" in a humorously exaggerated, yet ultimately truthful manner. For example, Waiting... painted an unflattering picture of simpering management figures; the awkward customer/waitstaff dynamic; the petty workplace romances, and the often-vile nature of line cooks. Plus it's always hilarious to see mean peoples' food tampered with in various disgusting ways. I was surprised to learn that a sequel to Waiting... was suddenly released -- straight to video, and with little fanfare. I was naturally excited to see it, but my Spidey-Sense was tingling because frankly, straight-to-video sequels usually suck.

The good news is that the production values in Still Waiting... are on par with its predecessor, and the writing is at least similar, as the screenplay was once again penned by Rob McKittrick, who opted not to direct this time around. The film is again set mostly at Shenaniganz restaurant. A fair number of characters from the first film make an appearance, albeit in smaller roles.

Still Waiting... also introduces a variety of new characters, each with their own conflicts. The central character seems to be Dennis, a socially awkward restaurant manager. Dennis is middle-aged, lives with his mother, and aspires to move up to the position of "district manager." However, Shenaniganz is losing business -- and waitresses -- to Ta-Ta's, a sexually-charged parody of Hooters located next door. Humorously enough, Ta-Ta's is owned by the same corporation, and run by Calvin (the guy who couldn't pee in the first film), who is now a smooth ladies' man.

Dennis is visited by Dan (the manager from Waiting...), now a district manager, who tells him that he won't get the promotion if his restaurant doesn't meet a hefty quota. Thus inspired, Dennis tries to drum up business and tells the staff that the restaurant will close if they fall short. He also pays a visit to Calvin, who lends him the secret to his success: a video teaching guys how to pick up women by being assholes (ably hosted by Adam Corolla).

The dinner shift that follows is nightmarishly busy, and features complaining customers, odd sexual advances, and cooks playing tricks on each other. The action occasionally pans over to Ta-Ta's, where every conversation drips with vapid sexual innuendo. The end of the night sees some characters' conflicts resolved and others... not so much.

My biggest problem with Still Waiting... is that I really didn't like the new characters. I felt that they all lacked depth compared to the characters in Waiting... Dennis is a somewhat-sympathetic character, but it seems like he was trying too hard to imitate Andy from The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Agnew, the top-dog server, is meant to be the new Monty; this is clear from the way he is given similar lines and parallel scenes. But he has none of the charisma that Ryan Reynolds brought to Monty's character, and simply comes across as an abrasive prick. The haggard waiter Joshua seems like an intriguing character, but nothing is revealed about him save that he is Jewish, and an insomniac who hallucinates at tables. There were many other underdeveloped characters who just seemed like fillers, to the point where I'm hard pressed to even remember their names.

The new characters were so lame that I was excited when scenes featured returning characters. But many of them, like Natasha, Dean, Chef Raddimus, and the wise dishwasher Bishop had so little screen time that they were really just cameo roles. The main exceptions would be Calvin and Naomi (who is now an extremely pissed-off hostess). The two of them shined all the more when compared to the rather flat newcomers.

I'll also note in passing that the writers seem to have toned down the risqué material in Still Waiting... It's simply a lot tamer than Waiting... There's still plenty of foul language and sexual humor, but no pubic hair or penis-showing games; no mention of bastards or "bee-yotches," and no explicit scenes of anyone doing anything nasty to anyone's food. I found this to be disappointing. The crudeness and shock value were a big part of what made the first film so funny. If anything, I think they should have kicked it up a notch for the sequel.

I didn't think Still Waiting... was all bad though. One thing I liked was that the film seemed to focus a little more on serving and interaction with customers than Waiting... The first few minutes feature a great "nightmare" scene, typical of the ones most servers have at some point. Still Waiting... also had scenes showing how stressful things can get during a rush, and how complaints tend to snowball. For better or worse, the film was bold enough to take potshots at stereotypical elderly customers, "ethnic" customers, "foreigners," etc. As a server who has been [reluctantly] steeped in this culture for years, I could relate.

Still Waiting... is better than I thought it would be, but still not great. It was funny, but not gut-busting. The film still had that exaggerated-yet-truthful element that I so enjoyed in the first film, but it dispensed with elements that worked so well in the original, namely likable characters and over-the-top "dirty" humor. In short, Still Waiting... pales in comparison to its predecessor. I suspect that the writers knew this deep down, as the film makes so many references to -- and even features flashback footage from -- Waiting... Even so, Still Waiting... does have its moments, and is worth at least a rental for anyone who has worked in a restaurant, or to fans of the first film, though said fans will probably walk away with mixed feelings. I would most definitely not recommend the film to children, or anyone with a low threshold for crude or sexual humor. I don't think the box from Still Waiting... is quite worthy of a spot on my shelf -- though I would consider tucking it out of sight behind the box from Waiting...