Still Waiting...
Overview -On the last night of the fiscal quarter, Dennis, Shenanigan's manager, will be promoted to district manager if they have a $9000 day. To motivate the crew, he tells them the restaurant will close if they don't meet this goal. His competition is next door: Ta-Ta's, a bar with scantily clad waitresses, managed by the newly self-confident Calvin. At Ta-Ta's, it's Allison's first day; she's nervous. At Shenanigan's, Mason, a cook, is trying his best to be cool, without success. As the shift wears on, each employee faces his worst fears, and Dennis tries to learn how to attract women. Next door, Calvin and Allison make self discoveries. It all ends at the post-shift party.
Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take
If 'Waiting…' is just as unfunny as its sequel 'Still Waiting…' is, I'm glad I never got around to seeing it. In typical low-budget, raunchy comedy fashion, the sequel stars a group of lesser known faces and a few of the less famous familiar ones from the original. No Ryan Reynolds or Anna Faris here, but you bet Luis Guzman is back. They did get John Michael Huggins to star, who I actually enjoy watching when he's given the right part. Although, in 'Still Waiting…' there is no right part. It's all just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Dennis (Huggins) is a manager at a local Shenanigan's restaurant. It's your typical chain restaurant with unfriendly employees, douchebag district managers, and mediocre food. Dennis is gunning for the new district manager opening because he has nothing else in his life to live for. He's got to make a certain amount of money in one day, or he can kiss his district managing dreams goodbye.
The problem is that a hot wing joint called Ta-Ta's has opened next door. It's another restaurant that offers mediocre food, but their secret weapons are the big breasted women who deliver it. How can Dennis compete with an establishment like that?
The restaurant is full of the usual miscreants. Chefs that look like they haven't bathed in weeks, a slutty hostess who's continually drunk, waitresses who don't care, and a bartender who thinks he's the coolest person alive because he wears cabana shirts to work. Honestly, I don't remember any of their names, and I can't really be bothered to look them up. That's how bored I was during this so-called comedy.
If I remember correctly, the first movie has a bit of a following. Someone out there must have felt that following was big enough to demand a sequel. I hate that person.
The entire movie plays out in one night as Dennis tries his hardest to reach the lofty goal he's set. He even goes so far as to invite over the geriatric crowd for an Early Bird Special. High comedy I tell you.
What transpires is a gross-out comedy that is heavy on the gross-out and light on the comedy. The jokes consist of how many bodily functions can be used around someone else's food. They fart around food, cough around food, pick their noses around food. Are you laughing yet?
There's nothing about 'Still Waiting…' that's even remotely funny. When Justin Long pops in for a cameo, his downtrodden corporate self-loathing is the best part of the movie (and that's not saying much). Truthfully, I'd rather eat the food at Shenanigan's, knowing full well what those idiots are doing back there in the kitchen, than ever watch this movie again.
Video Review
This low-budget comedy affair comes to Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 picture that's about as average as they come.
The entire movie seems to be covered in an odd bit of haze that dims colors and softens details. Contrast is middling. Darker scenes harbor some ghastly amounts of noise. Blacks are crushing, ensuring delineation never works like it's supposed to. Well-lit scenes are a little better off with some fine detail during close-ups and such.
This is a very average video presentation that won't wow anyone.
Audio Review
'Still Waiting…' uses a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix.
This dialogue-heavy comedy is a somber affair when it comes to sound. The dialogue gives off a hollow quality, even though it's well placed and directionality works relatively well. Even when the restaurants are busy, the rear channels are pretty quiet throughout. LFE blares instead of mingles, whenever the music at Ta-Ta's gets going.
Just like the video presentation, this audio track is less that impressive.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary — Director Jeff Balis and writer Rob McKittrick. You pretty much know what kind of idiots made this movie when McKittrick actually farts on the commentary. Really, he rips one and thinks it's the funniest thing ever. Do you really want to watch a movie written by a guy who cracks himself up by farting on the audio commentary?
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes (SD, 21 min.) — Quite a few scenes are included here, but none worth watching. The extended Justin Long scene is funny enough, but other than that there's nothing else here of note.
- Outtake Montages (SD, 5 min.) — A bunch of outtakes that aren't funny in the least.
- Sloppy Seconds: The Making of 'Still Waiting…' (SD, 46 min.) — Usually I get bothered when making of featurettes aren't long enough, but now I'm inclined to disagree with myself. I wish this one was shorter. Forty-six minutes is far too long to spend talking about this movie. Plus, listening to McKittrick is just so annoying.
Final Thoughts
'Still Waiting…' is just awful. There's no other way to put it. During its 90 or so minutes there's never a moment where you end up thinking that this could end up being a pleasant surprise or even humorous. It's stupid, ugly, and full of idiotic characters written by an idiotic writer. Oh, and yes, the average score should probably be two stars, but McKittrick blasted off a half star with that fart of his. Good job, buddy.
Definitely one to avoid.
