The one thing 2005’s Waiting… did right was figuring out that people will watch a movie if you put Ryan Reynolds’s face on it. They caught him just before his career took off and studios considered him viable as a leading man for film. What Waiting… did wrong was everything else. It wanted to be for waiters what Clerks was for convenient store employees and what Super Troopers was for highway patrol officers. It wasn’t. It isn’t. The jokes didn’t take and the director never got the knack of comedic timing. At first it seems there’s a chance for its direct-to-DVD sequel as Jeff Balis took over as the director, though Rob McKittrick is still responsible for the writing. Consequently, Still Waiting… delivers a few meager laughs, but it’s still a flop in the comedy genre.
The sequel goes back to Shenaniganz where the staff enjoys pranks and debauchery as they serve their dwindling client-base. What used to be a thriving restaurant has fallen on hard times after Ta-Tas, a Hooters-like franchise, opens across the street, drawing away Shenaniganz’s hotter female wait staff and consequently its customers. The story follows Dennis (John Michael Higgins), as he attempts to rally Shenaniganz back from financial ruin with his staff of misfits including the foul-mouthed Agnew (Steve Howey), the bitter Naomi (Alanna Ubach), the jaded Amber (Tania Raymonde), the mischievous Chuck (Chris Williams), the depressed Joshua (Phillip Vaden), the bartender Hank (Kirk Fox), and the skittish Mason (Rob Kerkovich). Meanwhile, Calvin (Rob Benedict) manages the girls at Ta-Tas as Luis Guzman works as the chef and Maggie Lawson plays the newest employee learning the ropes.
The writing hasn’t improved since Waiting… and the jokes rely way too much on a juvenile fascination with sex acts, dirty language, and stupid slapstick. By all accounts, the writing has actually gotten worse. Or maybe the deplorable quality is just more noticeable now that we don’t have Ryan Reynolds or even Justin Long to distract us. As if to substitute for the total lack of comedy here, they’ve filled half the movie with girls in tight tops. Hey, that’s great, except more than half the movie is unbearable and if all we wanted to watch was hot girls, there are cheaper ways to do it. But attempting to pad a comedy to make up for all the things it lacks just makes all the film’s shortcomings that much more glaring.
Any sense of plot beyond what’s outlined in the opening only exists in brief little sentence updates when Dennis looks at a spreadsheet of how the restaurant is doing and utters a sentence of despair or hope, according to what’s necessary to make us feel like he might succeed. By the time we get to the end with the moment of truth, it’s hard to care. There wasn’t any sense of progression. The goal was poorly defined. And the final resolution of it all doesn’t mean anything because the characters aren’t endearing or even likable. Still Waiting… shoots itself in the foot in every conceivable way and then attempts to redeem itself by showing some breasts at the very end. That’s its strategy.
John Michael Higgins made it abundantly clear in Arrested Development that he had the comedy chops to be a formidable force outside of the show. Yet, he seems dead set on taking roles that waste his potential. This marks yet another film where he stoops to subpar writing and doesn’t rise above it. He only ever plays the soft spoken loser or overly enthusiastic fan.
Chi McBride and Adam Carolla make cameo appearances.
It’s on Blu-ray, so even though no soul should ever watch it, they can now see it in HD.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There’s an audio commentary with the writer and director, outtakes and deleted scenes, and then a brief featurette that has more to do with the original film than this one.
If you were a diehard fan of Waiting… then maybe you’ll find it worth your while to watch this one. For anyone else it’s just a huge waste of time.
"Still Waiting..." is on sale April 5, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy. Directed by Jeff Balis. Written by Rob McKittrick. Starring John Michael Higgins, Luis Guzman, Rob Benedict, Steve Howey, Rob Kerkovich, Alanna Ubach, Phillip Vaden, Chris Williams, Erin Foster, Maggie Lawson.
