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Waiting...
Lions Gate Films Inc.


5.1

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 52 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for strong crude and sexual humor, pervasive language and some drug use

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Luis Guzmán, Chi McBride, John Francis Daley, and Kaitlin Doubleday

A hilarious comedy about frustrated waiters, stingy tippers and dicey food this film focuses on a group of young employees battling boredom at Shenanigan's, a generic chain restaurant. (Lions Gate Entertainment)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Rob McKittrick
DIRECTED BY:	Rob McKittrick
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 7, 2006 Theatrical: October 7, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	93 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Lots of people will leave screenings of this movie in disgust -- and laughter is the last thing they will hear on the way out.

TV Guide Ken Fox

You'll laugh and hate yourself for it.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

The young cast members, including Justin Long and Ryan Reynolds, are often spirited and funny, and restaurantgoers are left with a valuable lesson.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

Many of the dilemmas that are established never pay off, and there is no clear protagonist or antagonist. To make matters even murkier, the movie is poorly shot in visually uninteresting locations with constant soft focus. That said, it's also damn funny.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Waiting… is only intermittently funny, but when it is, it's hilarious.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

For every gag that flies there are at least one-and-a-half that don't.

Village Voice Darren Reidy

A day in the life at chain restaurant Shenanigan's, Waiting . . . makes a predictable pit stop to elaborately mess with a creep patron's food but otherwise exceeds expectations by handling the real, soul-sucking fears of the double shift.

LA Weekly Tina-Louise Reid

McKittrick cites "Dazed and Confused" as well as "Clerks" as influences, yet he lacks the raw edge of early Smith and the existential drift of Linklater. And if side-splitting laughter is what you crave, Waiting . . . will leave you hungry for a slice of American Pie.

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling

With its sweet stupidity and shoddy production values, Waiting... knowingly evokes bad '80s R-rated comedies, but the differences are telling.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Don't watch this film unless you have a high tolerance and an undemanding appreciation for penis jokes and humor based more on a capacity to disgust than to surprise.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Doesn't serve up enough laughs to build a theatrical following but could find life on video as a takeout item.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

There's real potential in the premise of young, unmotivated screw-ups logging time at a dead-end restaurant job--a hash-slinging "Office Space," basically--but first-time writer-director Rob McKittrick makes it look like a homemade sitcom laced with profanity.

Variety Dennis Harvey

The wait for laughs lasts the entire length of Waiting ..., first feature from writer-director Rob McKittrick that aims to be a "Clerks"-type comedy set in a chain restaurant but ends up somewhere below a "Porky's" sequel.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

The filmmaker captures a certain exaggerated verisimilitude, but the comedy is surprisingly flat. The cast sells the occasional one-liner, but a Reynolds smirk can take you only so far.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

There must be humor here somewhere.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Teenage boys will be in heaven. All others: Check, please.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

The movie is a clumsy and uninspired mess, which is not to say that it's not funny.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

It's a great premise for comedy, but this thing is too dumb to do it justice.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Those endless end credits reveal that McKittrick previously worked at Steak & Ale, Roadhouse Grill and Friday's. He may well need to return to his line of work after a debut as dismal as this one.

USA Today Mike Clark

Geared to 16-year-olds who can't name the governor of their state, this movie ought to be closed down by the health department.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Could have been a funny movie. There are a few truths about food-service that McKittrick gets right but doesn't fully exploit.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

This warmed-over slop feels as if it's been congealing for twice that long.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

It's lewd, crude and socially irredeemable.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Putrid comic stew.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Never aims higher than the urinal.

Premiere Sara Brady

Waiting is, at its root, a heaping handful of almost-funny ideas cobbled together without much skill for shaping a story. The result is that one in five provokes a smile, while the other four make the viewers slightly sick that they now have to remember what they just saw.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.1 (out of 10) based on 52 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Vince gave it a0:
Anyone posting here saying that "the critics don't understand because they have never worked in the restaurant industry" is sorely missing the point of how poor a movie this really is. Before any of you Applebee's waiters can jump all over me for not getting it, you should know that I worked in a fine-dining restaurant for the last 2.5 years to help put myself through school. This movie is filled with low-brow humor, blatant homophobia, poorly-delivered jokes, and undeveloped, simplistic characters. I understand the desire to watch something stupid and funny, but that type of movie is easy enough to find; don't waste your time/money watching "Waiting."

Scott gave it a10:
This is a movie in which you have to work in a restaruant to fully enjoy it.. its so realistic. If you have never worked in a restaruant, you'll be disturbed but the truth is, this stuff actually happens.

Peter B. gave it a9:
As a former Bartender/waiter I have to say that this movie is spot on at displaying the lifestyle of those not lucky enough to get paid big money to criticise something they don't understand. I feel sorry for those critics and to be honest anyone giving this movie a bad review is portrayed in the movie as the woman who cant get her order right. It's scary how true to life this movie actually is, and I cant believe people dont understand that the crap they have to go through is so real. Power to the waiters.

Will S. gave it a9:
Ever worked in a restaurant? Then you'll appreciate this film more than anyone else. Very entertaining, and I've experienced most of it when working in a kitchen!

Gary D. gave it a6:
It was very enjoyable and had a great life message. It is also something of a mood piece and a playful examination of the world of waitering. For a movie this campy, the acting was above average.

Christopher B. gave it a0:
One of the worst pieces of .... in cinema to ever come to light.

Spencer D. gave it a10:
I guess this is one of those love-it-or-hate-it movies. Don't go in expecting a work of art and genius... expect a pretty realistic show of regular people who work at a restaraunt. I loved it.

Waiting... Lions Gate Films Inc.

Waiting...
Lions Gate Films Inc.