Waiting...

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This article is about the 2005 film. For the Rockfords EP, see Waiting... (EP). For other uses, see Waiting (disambiguation).

Waiting...
Directed by	Rob McKittrick
Produced by	Chris Moore
Written by	Rob McKittrick
Starring	Ryan Reynolds Anna Faris Justin Long Dane Cook Chi McBride
Music by	Adam Gorgoni
Cinematography	Matthew Irving
Editing by	Andy Blumenthal
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release date(s)	October 7, 2005
Running time	94 min.
Country
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Gross revenue	$16,124,543
Followed by	Still Waiting...
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Waiting... (2005) is an American independent film starring Ryan Reynolds, Justin Long and Anna Faris. It was written and directed by Rob McKittrick. McKittrick wrote the screenplay while working as a waiter. Friend and producer Dean Shull, who met McKittrick while he was dining at an Orlando, Florida, T.G.I. Friday's, teamed up with Rob to help make the film. The film is the first effort by McKittrick as a writer/director.

The script was initially sold in a movie deal to Artisan Entertainment, but was released by Lions Gate Entertainment (which purchased Artisan in 2003). Producers Chris Moore and Jeff Balis of Live Planet's Project Greenlight fame also took notice of the project and assisted. The film made over US$6,000,000, more than twice the budget of the movie, in its opening weekend.

Tagline: What happens in the kitchen ends up on the plate.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production notes
4 Music
5 Sequel
6 Box office & DVD
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Plot

The film focuses on several characters. One of the main protagonists, Dean (Justin Long), has been a waiter for four years since graduating high school and has never questioned his job at Shenaniganz (a parody of Bennigan's, a casual dining restaurant; this name is also a reference to the films Super Troopers and Office Space). He hasn't earned a degree after four years of community college. When Dean learns a former high-school classmate, Chet, now has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he is thrown into turmoil about his seemingly dead-end life. Dean's lecherous friend and co-worker, Monty (Ryan Reynolds), is in the exact same situation, but couldn't care less and has accepted the fact that his future lies with Shenaniganz. While being more concerned with partying and girls, Monty is put in charge of training Mitch (John Francis Daley), a newly hired waiter who never seems to get a word in edgewise.

Throughout the course of the night, each worker goes through their own unique adventure, either revolving around customers or the other employees. Minutes before the restaurant closes, however, Chet and his girlfriend come in for dinner and leave Dean a tip worth $68.91, saying that Dean needs the money more than he does. Ironically, Dean said the same thing to a redneck couple he had been serving earlier after the couple left a $2 tip on a $62 check. This prompts Dean to quit his job (turning down an assistant manager position that Dan offered him at the beginning of the film) and seek a more promising future.

When the shift ends, the staff head to a party at Monty and Dean's house. At the party, Monty is able to resist having sex with the underage Natasha (although he says that they will have sex the following Wednesday, when she will be 18), Calvin's relationship problems begin to improve, and Mitch bashes most members of the staff after being constantly interrupted throughout the day. He concludes by giving them all The Goat from the "Penis-Showing Game," for which Monty declares him a god and swears his undying allegiance to him. The film ends with the staff talking about the incident with Mitch, Dan showing up at Dean's disgruntled redneck customers house after Natasha gave him the wrong address to the party, and the hip-hop music video debut of Nick and T-Dog. After the final credits roll, a Rube Goldberg machine is set in motion by Nick (Andy Milonakis) that successfully opens a bottle of beer and pours it into a mug.

[edit] Cast

Dean (Justin Long) and Monty (Ryan Reynolds)

Role	Actor
Monty	Ryan Reynolds
Serena	Anna Faris
Dean	Justin Long
Dan	David Koechner
Raddimus	Luis Guzmán
Bishop	Chi McBride
Mitch	John Francis Daley
Amy	Kaitlin Doubleday
Calvin	Robert Patrick Benedict
Noami	Alanna Ubach
Natasha	Vanessa Lengies
T-Dog	Max Kasch
Nick	Andy Milonakis
Floyd	Dane Cook
Danielle	Jordan Ladd
Tyla	Emmanuelle Chriqui
Monty's Mom	Wendie Malick

[edit] Production notes

McKittrick often credits Kevin Smith's Clerks as the inspiration for the film^{[citation needed]}. Smith wrote a film called Bussing years back; however, it was never made even though the script was sold. A fake promotional poster for Bussing can be found in Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash (Smith's comic book store) in Red Bank, New Jersey.

According to the commentary track on the DVD of the film, the restaurant in the film is a former Bennigan's restaurant in New Orleans. Many current Bennigan's locations include the same floorplan, the same multi-colored plates, and similar decor on the walls. It is now a Verizon Wireless store.

On the front and back cover of the DVD release, Anna Faris' and Ryan Reynolds' faces are superimposed on the bodies of Justin Long and Kaitlin Doubleday. This is most noticeable on the back cover where Reynolds face is superimposed on the much slimmer body of Justin Long. This is probably due to Faris and Reynolds both being more recognizable actors.

[edit] Music

Original score for the movie was composed by Adam Gorgoni. A soundtrack was released and is available only through the iTunes Store. The track listing is as follows:

"Callin' Out" - Lyrics Born
"No Tomorrow" - The Blackouts
"Hardcore Days, Softcore Nights" - Aqueduct
"I Started Running" - The Talk
"The Gay '90s" - Alternative Champs
"Will My Lord Be Gardening" - Lilys
"Fashion Fatale" - Read Yellow
"Frantic (Roman Polanski version)" - Aqueduct
"Dance" - Snatches of Pink
"Nick and T-Dog's P-H-Fat Rap (radio edit)" - Andy Milonakis and Max Kasch

The film also included songs by The Rattlesnakes, The New Pornographers, Reaching Forward, Spoon, REO Speedwagon, Peaches, Leftfield, Goldfinger, Spin Doctors, Sunday's Best, High Speed Scene, and Large Pro.

[edit] Sequel

Currently a sequel titled Still Waiting... is in post-production and slated for a 2009 release. Justin Long is rumored to return in it.

[edit] Box office & DVD

The film grossed over double its budget during opening weekend with $6,021,106 in 1,652 theaters. Its total gross was $18,637,690 with $16,124,543 within the U.S. and $2,513,147 in foreign box offices.^[1]

A surge of popularity in Australia has seen the DVD sell over 350,000 units (5x Platinum) in that country alone. This has seen an Australian DVD gross of $7,982,500.

Since being released on DVD, the film has made over $45 million dollars (theatrical and home video total) in the United States; while the total worldwide gross for the film is $60 million.