Waiting…(2005)

Plot Summary

• Young employees at Shenaniganz restaurant collectively stave off boredom and adulthood with their antics. The movie chronicles the first day of an employee who witnesses first-hand the various things the waiters, cooks and others did at a restaurant to pass the time.Dean (Justin Long) has been a waiter for four years since graduating from high school and hasn't earned a degree during his four years at a community college. When Dean learns from his mother (Monica) that a former high school classmate, Chett (Travis Resor), now has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he begins to rethink his direction-less life.Dean's lecherous friend and co-worker, Monty (Ryan Reynolds), is in exactly the same situation, but has accepted that his future lies with the restaurant, Shenaniganz. Monty is put in charge of training Mitch (John Francis Daley), a newly hired waiter who is constantly interrupted.Also working with Dean is Calvin (Robert Patrick Benedict), a hopeless romantic who cannot hang onto a relationship, and Dan (David Koechner), the uptight manager who is grooming Dean as his protege. Rounding out the staff are 17-year old hostess Natasha (Vanessa Lengies), abrasive waitress Naomi (Alanna Ubach), waitress (and Monty's ex-girlfriend) Serena (Anna Faris), Dean's girlfriend and fellow waitress Amy (Kaitlin Doubleday), stoner bus-boys T-Dog (Max Kasch) and Nick (Andy Milonakis), head chef Raddamus (Luis Guzman), the insane, unsanitary chef Floyd (Dane Cook), bartender Tyla (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and the pensive and philosophical dishwasher Bishop (Chi McBride). The cooler of the restaurant is the favorite spot for the workers to smoke pot.Natasha has a monster crush on Monty, but she admits that she is a minor and is going to turn 18 in another week. Monty tells Mitch that everything that Dan wants him to learn can be done in a few hours, but to really survive at Shenaniganz, Mitch has to be comfortable with male frontal nudity.Monty lives with his mother (Wendie Malick) who berates him for his life choices. She indicates that Monty is not responsible enough to ever have kids, and that she regrets having Monty as her kid in the first place.The waiters preoccupy themselves with endless gossip, complaining about the customers, seeking covert revenge on particularly rude patrons, and playing a special kind of game called the "Penis Showing Game" where the male staff deliberately expose their genitalia to their unsuspecting coworkers, as well as the ways the staff deal with rude customers. The objective of the game is to get the coworkers to sneak a peek at the genitalia, at which point one can ridicule them for being gay. Raddamus takes Mitch under his wings and teaches him the strategies involved in the game. Raddamus says that the more unsuspecting the strategy, the more kicks one gets to hit the other person on their behind.In one instance, food is sent back by a really unpleasant female customer who insults Amy for not even understanding simple instructions clearly. She wanted the steak medium rare, and extra gravy on the mashed potatoes. The kitchen staff then gladly contaminate with saliva, dandruff, pubic hair, and other unsavory bits. Monty comments that Mitch doesn't speak much, but when he starts to speak, Monty again interrupts and shuts him down.Their manager, Dan, offers Dean the chance to compete with Calvin for the position of Assistant Manager. Dean says that he needs time to think and decide his life's priorities. Naomi overhears the conversation and informs the rest of the staff that Dean might become their boss if he takes up the role of the Assistant Manager. When the staff confronts Dean about his meeting with Dan, Dean feigns ignorance and says nothing, further fueling their suspicions.Dead talks to Monty and admits that he is thinking about his career due to Chet graduating college. An altercation with a customer who left a poor tip to Dean results in Dan demanding an answer by the end of the day. The customer left Dean a $1 tip on a bill of $90. Dean made it a point to return the $1 to the customer. The customer makes a ruckus in the restaurant and Dan has to give away a lot of free stuff to placate the customer.Each employee has his or her own problems and stories, which are interwoven with the ebb and flow of business. Floyd cannot go to the rest room to urinate as one time when he was there, he saw another person in the next stall staring right at his penis. As a result, Floyd got very conscious and now could not even go to urinate in the booth. Bishop tries to counsel Floyd but they are both distracted when Floyd pranks Raddamus in the Penis game.As the day winds down, Dean is left on his own during the final hour of business. Two new guests arrive, one of whom Dean quickly realizes is Chet, his successful schoolmate. Initially annoyed, Dean is humbled by Chet when he leaves Dean $100 for his $30 meal. Chet reiterates, 'You look like you need it more than me,' which Dean had retorted to the earlier customer. Dean is called to Dan's office to decide on the promotion, but Dean turns it down and quits his job to return to college for 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 Natasha although he says they will have sex the following Wednesday, when she will be 18. Calvin attempts to fix his relationship problems, and Mitch, who had been unable to speak all day, mainly due to Monty's interruptions, finally rants about the entire staff and quits.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 a disgruntled customers' house after Natasha gave him the wrong address to the party, and the hip hop music video debut of Nick and T-Dog.

Storyline

• It's the dinner shift at ShenaniganZ. Cluess boss Dan assigns Mitch, a 22-year-old trainee, to Monty, the smooth-talker who chases girls for one-night stands. Dean, a 22-year-old waiter, feels that life is passing him by. Dan offers him the assistant-manager job and gives him until midnight to decide. Other waiters, cooks, and bus boys have their issues and personalities. Bishop, the dishwasher, is their counselor. During this shift, Monty may learn something, Dean makes his decision, Dan makes a play for the not-yet-18 hostess, customers get their comeuppance, the guys all play the in-house homophobic flashing game, the gals demonstrate why they won't, and Mitch gets the last word. — <jhailey@hotmail.com> Over the course of 24 hours, from one drunken after-work party to the next drunken after-work party the following night, the shenanigans of the employees at ShenaniganZ, a strip-mall franchise restaurant, are presented. These shenanigans are centered on the restaurant's wait staff, who have the unenviable position of being the primary interface between the other employees, whether it be the bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, buspeople, hostess or manager, and the customers. There are six wait staff working this day. Monty, the alpha male and head troublemaker, is a womanizer who has a penchant for jail bait, he currently having his eye on the new hostess, Natasha, who will not be legal for another week. Serena, Monty's ex-girlfriend, is arguably the one person who can put him in his place. Dean, who has worked as a waiter here for four years since high school and has stayed largely in not knowing what he wants to do, is feeling at a crossroads. He has learned that Chet Miller, with who he took all the advanced academic courses in high school, has just graduated from college with a degree in engineering, while Dean himself has not even managed to graduate from community college. Dan, the loser Manager, offers Dean the position of Assistant Manager, Dean having to weigh the benefits of advancement against possibly turning into another Dan. Amy, Dean's girlfriend, always seems to be stuck with having to serve the worst of the already generally bad customers that frequent the restaurant. Insecure Calvin, who is working a double shift as a favor for his "girlfriend" who wanted a night off, has recently developed a case of shy bladder syndrome. And Naomi is seemingly angry at everyone and everything. A seventh this day is trainee Mitch, who seems overwhelmed by these shenanigans, especially the "penis showing game". — Huggo