Waiting... (www.the-usher.com)

"Order up"

Mitch's (Daley) first day at Shenaniganz Bar & Grill was nothing like he expected it to be. His trainer Monty (Reynolds) introduced him to his new workmates, the restaurant rules and a game that all of the male employees play. As the dinner rush starts he sees the pressure they come under but he also discovers how they deal with and the costumers who complain and send their food back.

The trend for gross out comedies may be dying out but this doesn't stop Hollywood serving up one last helping.

'Waiting…' is a day in the life of the waiters and the waitresses of Shenaniganz restaurant and what they get up to when the costumers can't see them. Writer/director Rob McKittrick introduces you to every gross and disgusting thing that you can think of happening behind the scenes of a bar and grill. We see how you should never insult any staff member of a restaurant and never, ever send anything back.

The staff of Shenaniganz is a stereotypical mix of mischievous deviants, rouges and sluts and nice girls and average guys. Ryan Reynolds plays the overly confident Monty, the most success waiter of the restaurant who as a passion underage girls. This is a character that plays to Reynolds' comedic style but never really pushes him to try anything new or even more outrageous. Anna Faris is Serena, the slutty waitress who has slept with many of the staff. Unfortunately she only has one real scene to shine because the rest of her time she spends standing about. After Justin Long's strong comedy showing in 'Dodgeball' but he unfortunately has to play it straight as Dean. He is the waiter who is stuck in a rut, wondering what to do with his life after hearing that a high school classmate has just graduated from college and got himself a highly paid job.

The rest of the cast also play typically stereotypical restaurant roles. David Koechner is a power-obsessed boss who nobody likes. Alanna Ubach is the bitter waitress who hates everyone. Vanessa Lengies is seventeen year-old object of Monty's desire. Robert Patrick Benedict is the nice guy with a bladder problem. Luis Guzmán has fun as head chief who is the expert at restaurant game and Chi McBride is the dishwasher with a psychiatric ear.

'Waiting…' is crude, gross and quite basic but if you go into the movie expecting this, the service is quite good. There are enough laughs to wet your appetite but if you are expecting a five-course meal you will be disappointed. This is fast food comedy and one that you enjoy while watching but a quick burp after you leave and you'll forget all about it.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented extremely well.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (7.12 mins)
Entitled 'Maybe we're all gay', 'Wash your hands a lot', 'Serena and Amy sum up their tables', 'Floyd screws with Dean #1', 'It's tea time', 'We're beggars', 'That never stopped Dan', 'Starting the dream five', 'Meat!', 'Mature for you age', 'Where's the Party', 'Floyd screws with Dean #2' and 'Maslow's hierarchy of needs', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track or introduction.

Outtakes/Alternative Takes (15.08 mins)
Entitled 'Balls shows Ryan 'The Log' for real', 'Dan wants to play the penis showing game', 'Foreigners', 'Some pubes from my gigantic ball sack', 'I'd do her', 'Don't mix business and pleasure', 'Ice Pack (AKA the genius of Justin and RPB), 'Where's my chicken sandwich!?!?!', 'Stall stamina', 'Naomi's way too mad', 'Fire!', 'F**k you Ryan', 'Mitch startles Monty', 'Rob says hi', 'Calvin Pees (Slo-mo fun with midgets), 'Is Natasha here?' and 'The illness of Max Kash', these outtakes and alternative scenes show some of the fun that the cast and crew had on set.

That Little Extra Documentary (19.03 mins)
Split into parts entitled 'In the Beginning', 'Casting', 'Off to New Orleans', 'Designing Shenanigans', 'The Movie Geek shot', 'The Game' and ' First time director credits' the featurettes have contributions from writer/director Rob McKittrick, co-producer Dean Shull, producer Jeff Balis and stars Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Luis Guzmán, John Francis Daley, Kaitlin Doubleday and Robert Patrick Benedict. They take you through the entire making of the movie using video camera used by the cast and crew. Video Commentaries Justin Long (Dean) and Dane Cook (Floyd) provide video commentary for the scenes with Dean and his Mother and setting up the game.

Sending it back: The Real Dish on Waiting (6.06 mins)
Three former servers talk about the job and their stories of dealing with troublesome customers.

Trailers
The full trailer for 'Waiting' and previews of 'District', '2001 Maniacs', 'Just Friends', 'Fool Proof', 'Adam & Eve', 'Slackers', 'Get Over it' and 'Super Cross'

OVERALL

With only the lack of a commentary letting this release down, fans of 'Waiting…' should be very pleased with this DVD. The featurettes cover every aspect of the films production and the deleted scenes add to the comedy from the film. This is a good single disc DVD.

DVD

Van Wilder

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

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2006