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Waiting...
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Lions Gate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak/Stevie McCleary (20th August 2007). |
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The Film
 The comparisons are obvious. There was "Clerks" (1994) and also "Office Space" (1999), so shall there be Rob McKittrick's "Waiting..." This coupled with many a negative review really doesn't seem to bode well for this feature based on McKittrick's time in a restaurant. But then, I'd watch Ryan Reynolds terrorize a midget wearing a tutu and call it art, so I'm quite biased. Featuring a cast that is full of 'ready-to-break-through-and-some-of-us-had-and-maybe-we're-slumming-it-right-now-I'm-not-quite-certain' stars, "Waiting..." follows Justin Long's character, Dean (now probably more famous as being the "Mac Guy" on ads rather than for his role in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (2004)) as he realises he doesn't want to spend his whole life in the 'ShenaniganZ' restaurant. Monty (Ryan Reynolds) is another longtime employee whose main objective in life is to bone underage girls. This is kind of creepy. Although, to be fair, he seems to like the just-under-18 ones...and that's still legal, so hey. The rest of the script is full of various characters who all have their own little tale and quirks. This is all seen through the eyes of a brand new employee, Mitch (played by John Francis Daley, that nerdy kid from the excellent series "Freaks and Geeks" (1999-2000)) as he travels through his first day on the job. In fact, that's one of the most interesting choices made by the filmmakers. We have several main protagonists and several characters that we follow and root for. It's an ensemble piece (using many an actor like Anna Faris, David Koechner, Luis Guzmán and Chi McBride) that follows many an exaggerated situation...but to anyone who has worked in one of those types of restaurants you'll immediately recognize that these characters are real. They're real people and the situations they encounter are, albeit crazy...but real. The question is; does the film appeal to people who haven't ever been a part of that restaurant/food service industry? As many of the jokes might fly over heads, despite this I think it's still relatable. The themes are common enough and may give you pause when being a prick to any staff in restaurants in the future... I can vouch, as stupid as it sounds, that much of the humor in this film is reflected from real life. There's a disturbing game involving the showing of genitals to others in the film (and if you get fooled into looking, you get smacked in your own) that I know was played by an extended group of friends of mine years earlier. Is this film influenced by films like "Clerks" (1994)? Of course, it has many similarities. But at the same time this film could have come out first and inspired others the exact same way. There are certain storytelling techniques that are common in the 'crappy day-job' genre that will always be evident in most movies of the kind. This shouldn't lessen them anymore than any other genre that loses its punch for the same tricks. The good thing about a movie like this is the aforementioned large cast, as they all get to play a variety of roles due to the nature of the setting. And the whole film isn't just played for laughs...there are some poignant moments sprinkled throughout. However, the down side of this film is that is quite predictable and the characters don't develop as much as you'd hope. Instead the easy laugh is usually taken. It is these things that hold it back and prevent the film from becoming a cult classic. This movie isn't for everyone; this much is obvious. But that's fine because you really can't please everyone all the time, especially when it comes to the nature of comedy. One man's water is another man's wine. This film is more like Pepsi, and that's just fine. If you enjoyed the films that "Waiting..." often gets compared to, or ever worked in a cruddy restaurant, then you'll like this too. It's not highbrow entertainment, but it's definitely entertaining.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this high-definition transfer is presented in full 1080p at 24/fps and has been encoded using AVC MPEG-4 compression. The DVD had a few problems and to be honest I wasn't expecting much from this high-definition release, but I was surprised for the most part. The image was nice and clean, with only the occasional spec popping up, it was also very sharp with detailed nicely displayed but something was a bit off with this transfer. It looked far to artificial, skin tones were slightly off with lips looking a little on the purple side at times. I'm not entirely sure what this was caused by as I checked my settings on both the TV and the player and still got a very artificial inorganic looking image. It's a step apart from the DVD but I'm not entirely sure if it's a step forwards or backwards.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included on this release, an uncompressed English PCM 7.1 surround mix presented at 6.1 Mbps and also an English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX encoded track presented at 640 Kbps. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its 7.1 PCM track, normally for films such as this being low budget comedies a standard 5.1 Dolby track is more than enough, but the PCM manages to open up the sound space a little wider. Although really adding a little to the overall experience, dialogue is clear and mainly front heavy but ambient sound and score uses the rear speakers effectively. There's nothing amazing about this track other than it's a fairly good representation of the film's audio. Optional subtitles are included in English and Spanish.
Extras
Lionsgate has included virtually all the extras from previous DVD releases of this film plus added several exclusive extras for this release. They include an audio commentary, an expanded "telestrator' commentary, an introduction, a documentary in 16 parts, two featurettes, deleted and alternate scenes, outtakes, video commentaries, a theatrical trailer plus a collection of bonus trailers. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is the option to watch the film with an "expanded telestrator" commentary with the film's writer/director Rob McKittrick and producer Jeff Balis. The track runs for 130 minutes because the film occasionally pauses for Rob to draw on the screen using the telestrator in order to point something out. It basically runs like a regular commentary track where the two participants share production trivia and use the telestrator to guide your attention. These two are quite funny, especially when it comes to revealing some of the few hidden gags for example in the restaurant the walls are decorated with themes, one wall features references to sexual positions such as 'the Eifel tower', 'the silk purse', or 'Abe Lincoln' among others. The inspiration and background of the script, production design, photography, cast and music are also covered in detail in this largely screen-specific track. They also share a few stories and even though it's quite a long extra to flick through it's a worth while exercise because its damn funny and often very interesting and that's largely due to the two guys that run the show and their lighthearted approach to the film. Next up is the first in a few new extras created for this release, a feature-length audio commentary with the film's writer/director Rob McKittrick, co-producer Dean Shull and cast members Anna Faris, Vanessa Lengies, John Francis Daley, Rob Benedict and Andy Milonakis. This is a much more fun track than the previous (although the telestrator track as fun) this one goes farther and focuses more on making fun and having a good time than actually telling us anything or interest about the production. They crack jokes, share memories from the filming and also talk about each other and comment on those cast members that were unable to make the recording. A good amount of ribbing is included and it quickly becomes clear how much of a annoying fool Andy Milonakis, who spends his time trying to be as offensive as possible. The disc also includes an all-new exclusive introduction by writer/director Rob McKittrick which is in 1080p and runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds, in this clip he welcomes the viewer to this new edition of the film and what you'll expect to find on the disc and why it's much better than the previous DVD release. Following that is "The Works" a massive documentary presented in 16 parts, each part can be viewed individually or with a "Play All" feature, the total feature runs around 85 minutes. Throughout the feature a 'hotdog' icon will pop up pressing enter on your remote will take to an interactive video commentary (this feature can also be viewed independently and is reviewed further down) and includes: - "The Beginning" runs for 8 minutes 12 seconds, this focuses on the origin of the sript, inspiration for the characters, setting up the deal to make it with Artisan (who was later bought by Lionsgate). - "Casting I: The Leads" runs for 5 minutes 24 seconds and takes a closer look at casting the principle players and how the filmmaker's found them and convinced them to be in the film. - "The Look" runs for 4 minutes, because the director had been living with this film for 7 years he took the time to plan almost the entire film, what it would look like and the use of camera movements as well as a look at the production design. - "The Kitchen" runs for 2 minutes 14 seconds, here the cast talk about how awful it was working in the kitchen set and smell that was generated by all that food. - "Casting II: Servers & Bartenders" runs for 8 minutes 10 seconds, this is a close look at casting the support crew and finding the right people to fill those roles. - "Music" runs for 2 minutes 46 seconds, this is focuses on the film's score and creating a score with very little money left in the budget. - "The Rap" runs for 2 minutes 59 seconds, this is on how Milonakis wrote a rap for the film's end credits that his character performs. - "Casting III: Newbies" runs for 11 minutes 13 seconds, on the long and often frustrating audition process and what they add to the film. - "Fraternization" runs for 2 minutes 53 seconds, this is on how the entire group became friends very fast and hung out a lot while filming the movie. - "Accommodations" runs for 5 minutes 6 seconds, this is on accommodating an ensemble cast on a small budget. - "The Fight" runs for 6 minutes 32 seconds, this focuses on a practical joke that the director and actor Luis Guzman played on the entire cast. - "Casting IV: The Veterans" runs for 7 minutes 26 seconds, focuses on the casting of the older 'more-established' actors in this film. - "Jeff vs. Rob" runs for 5 minutes 23 seconds, and focuses on the relationship between director McKittrick and producer Balis. - "Casting V: And...Dane Cook" which runs for 3 minutes 3 seconds and takes a look at casting the comedian, although his part was rather small it makes sense to have this included because he's now a star... - "Improv the Script and Rob" runs for 4 minutes 29 seconds, this looks at some of the improvised moments in the film. - "Last Call" runs for 5 minutes 24 seconds and is a final wrap up from the cast and crew. Next up is "That Little Extra: Producer's Documentary", which is really a featurette that runs for 19 minutes 4 seconds. It's basically a condensed version of "The Works" and covers a lot of the same things, like the script and how it originated, Rob wanting to direct and the difficulty and challenges faced in making the film and getting everyone involved. Also covers casting, shooting in New Orleans, designing and building the sets, on shooting the film and doing a one-shot tracking through the whole restaurant in what they call the "film geek shot" also looks at the penis game and working with a first time director. "Side Dishes" are the interactive video commentaries, these include cast and crew talking about a few selected scenes and sharing their thoughts on the production and generally letting the viewer know what was going through their minds at the time of filming, these clips also include original audition tapes among other things. They can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option and include: - "Alanna" which runs for 4 minutes 34 seconds and also includes her "Audition Tape" which runs for 54 seconds. - "Dane" runs for 10 minutes 8 seconds and includes his "Audition Tape" which runs for 2 minutes 18 seconds. - "JFD" runs for 2 minutes 48 seconds and includes his "Audition Tape" which runs for 1 minute 46 seconds. - "Jordan" which runs for 1 minute 18 seconds. - "Justin" which runs for 3 minutes 1 second. - "Kaitlin" which runs for 2 minutes 9 seconds and also includes her "Audition Tape" which runs for 1 minute 38 seconds. - "Koechner" runs for 9 minutes 41 seconds and also includes his "Audition Tape" which runs for 1 minute 11 seconds. - "Max and Andy" runs for 2 minutes 10 seconds and also includes the original rap vide they did for the credits and that runs for 2 minutes 54 seconds as well as Milonakis' "Audition Rap" tape which runs for 1 minute 31 seconds and finally "Max Audition" which runs for 52 seconds. - "RPB" runs for 6 minutes 29 seconds and also includes his "Audition Tape" which runs for 2 minutes 6 seconds. - "Vanessa" runs for 3 minutes 28 seconds and includes her "Audition Tape" which runs for 56 seconds. - "Music" runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds and also includes a clip "About the Rap Video" which runs for 3 minutes 10 seconds. - "Visuals" runs for 5 minutes 57 seconds. A series of Deleted scenes / Alternate scenes is also included, they too can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' function, they include: - "Maybe We're All Gay" runs for 59 seconds, Monty suggests that Mitch cold be gay. - "Wash Your Hands a Lot" runs for 17 seconds, Raddimus reminds Mitch to always wash his hands. - "Serena and Amy Sum Up Their Tables" runs for 13 seconds, the girls complain about their customers. - "Floyd Screws with Dean #1" runs for 18 seconds, Floyd gives Dean a hard time about wanting some blue cheese. - "It's Tea Time" runs for 21 seconds, a kitchen hand tea bags a customer's steak. - "We're Beggars" runs for 39 seconds, Dean complains about wait staff basically being beggars. - "That Never Stopped Dan" runs for 26 seconds, Naomi complains about Dan hitting on the entire wait staff. - "Starting The Dream Fire" runs for 19 seconds, Floyd starts a fire. - "Meat!" runs for 23 seconds, Floyd raids the meat fridge. - "Mature For Your Age" runs for 29 seconds, Monty hits on a few girls from the restaurant. - "Where's The Party?" runs for 1 minute 38 seconds, a conversation about where they're having their party after work. - "Floyd Screws with Dean #2" runs for 30 seconds, Floyd Sig-Hails Dean and pretends to shoot him. - "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" runs for 34 seconds, Bishop explains the theory as applied to girls. A collection of outtakes is next, they can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' feature and include: - "Balis Shows Ryan The Log For Real" runs for 1 minute 46 seconds, Producer Balis shows Ryan Renolds his balls. - "Dan Wants To Play The Penis Game" runs for 49 seconds, Dan expresses interest in paying the game. - "Foreigners" runs for 20 seconds, Naomi complains about foreigners. - "Some Pubes From My Gigantic Ball Sack" runs for 10 seconds, a close up of Floyd plucking some pubes from his balls. - "I'd Do Her" runs for 59 seconds, Monty tells Dean he'd do his girlfriend. - "Don' Mix Business With Pleasure" runs for 15 seconds, Dean gives Dan an excuse why on why they don't hang out. - "Ice Pick (AKA The Genius of Justin and RPB)" runs for 1 minute 47 seconds, Dean freaks out while holding an ice pick. - "Where's My Chicken Sandwich?!?!" runs for 23 seconds, Calvin gets frustrated about not getting his order up. - "Stall Stamina" runs for 42 seconds, a POV shot of Raddimus having sex with Danielle in the toilet. - "Naomi's Waaay Too Mad" runs for 47 seconds, Naomi freaks out about there being too many wait staff on. - "Fire!" runs for 18 seconds, Dan freaks out about the fire. - "F**k You Ryan" runs for 31 seconds, John Francis Daley screws up his line. - "Mitch Startles Monty" runs for 33 seconds, Mitch sneaks up to Monty. - "Rob Says Hi" run for 20 seconds, the director accidentally is seen in the shot. - "Calvin Pees (Slo-mo Fun With Midget)" runs for 37 seconds, slo-mo stuff from the fantasy scene. - "Is Natasha Here?" (Student Film Day)" runs for 44 seconds, Dan arrives at the wrong house. - "Seductive On The Bed" runs for 27 seconds, Natasha in different positions on the bed. - "The Firing (AKA The Genuis Of Koechner)" runs for 1 minute 56 seconds. Dan fired Dean. - "The Illness Of Max Kasch (Warning Very Graphic)" runs for 1 minute 38 seconds and Kasch talks shit. "Going to the Movies with Rob and Andy" is a featurette presented in 1080p, it's exclusive to this Blu-ray release and runs for 13 minutes 3 seconds, this is basically footage from the film's premiere red carpet event and as you watch the footage director Rob McKittrick and cast member Andy Milonakis provide a commentary, mainly a few jabs at the cast and nothing all that interesting. The film's original theatrical trailer is also included on this disc and runs for 2 minutes 20 seconds. Rounding out the film's extras are a series of bonus trailers for: - "Crank" which runs for 1 minute 58 seconds. - "Employee of the Month" which runs for 2 minutes 21 seconds. - "The Invincible Iron Man" which runs for 1 minute 22 seconds. - "The Punisher (2004)" which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds. - "Lord of War" which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds.
Overall
This film has been reviewed by Stevie McCleary he DVD specifications and extras have been reviewed by Noor Razzak.
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