"This steak is medium-rare. I asked for it medium. And I wanted extra gravy on my mashed potatoes. Let me ask you something: How hard is your job? How intelligent do you have to be to take a food order?" If you've seen Waiting... then you know how this patron is dealt with. Waiting..., for those who have worked in food service, is a highly relatable film about the chaos and comradery that comes with working in a restaurant. For those who haven't worked in food service, it's a warning: never mistreat people who handle your food. While the tumultuous nature of working in a restaurant is perhaps the entrée of the film, the mid-twenties crisis, the "quarter-life crisis," is the side. And this coming-of-age panic is best personified in Justin Long's character, Dean.
What Is 'Waiting...' About?
Dean works at Shenaniganz, a franchise restaurant. His motley crew of server coworkers includes Monty (Ryan Reynolds), one of Reynold's last roles of the "college humor" era of his career; Serena (Anna Faris), Monty's ex who is possibly the only person at Shenaniganz who can effectively call out Monty on his immature behavior; Amy (Kaitlin Doubleday), Dean's girlfriend who wonders how invested Dean is in their relationship; Calvin (Robert Patrick Benedict), a self-conscious man who pines for a coworker who uses him to cover her shifts; And Naomi (Alanna Ubach), a furious person who is constantly frustrated with the restaurant environment. Dean is in a quarter-life crisis. While having lunch with his mother, she reveals that his former classmate, Chett (Travis Resor), has graduated with a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. Meanwhile, Dean is aimlessly taking classes at a community college part-time. The news of Chett's accomplishment weighs on Dean for the rest of the day. At work, Dean's manager (David Koechner) offers Dean the position of assistant manager. He's at a crossroads: accept the assistant manager position for a job he's competent at but not passionate about, or pursue something else without knowing what that something is.
'Waiting...' Is a Film for Those Who Didn't Have a Typical, Post-High School Experience
Waiting... resonates, and not just with those who have worked in restaurants. It's a movie for anyone who didn't go away for college, stayed in their hometown, and hung around with all of their friends from high school who likewise didn't leave for college. And for many -- the many who don't join cerebral, artsy kids at Sarah Lawrence, don't rush for sororities or fraternities at the University of Alabama, don't have dorm parties at Arizona State, and don't try to conquer the world at Stanford -- it's a film that understands how life post-high school, slouching toward adulthood, doesn't always glow with youthful ambition. The Chetts of the world are taking Calculus III in a lecture hall; Dean is refilling a drink order for the third time. His adult life, little by little, begins to form, and it scares the hell out of him. What is he doing with his life?
For those who have gone through their 20s and have avoided the usual route -- college, internships, more college, career, promotion -- and have instead started working right out of high school, put off attending college, or, like Dean, take classes at a community college they aren't passionate about, the sense of malaise is ever-present. It exists either in the forefront or back of their minds, all the while, being told that this is the best time of their lives. High school begins to feel more and more distant like it was a different life altogether. You run into former teachers or classmates and feel weird about not having done more when they ask what you've been up to.
In a scene in the film, Dean is adroitly serving a table filled with businessmen who are impressed with Dean's memorization skills. As they leave, one of them hands Dean a business card and tells him that he'd like someone like him on their team. Finally, someone sees potential in him. But as he walks away, Dean notices the business card is for another restaurant and that the man's intention was just to persuade him to be a server there instead. He crumbles up the card, defeated. Everyone hopes that someone will see something special in them, a glimmer that they themselves might be blind to. We want someone to believe in us so that maybe we can believe in ourselves.
Waiting...' Is Actually Relatable
Waiting... was released the same year as Grey's Anatomy. In the pilot episode, Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) asks his fellow interns to raise their hands if they feel like they don't know what they are doing with their lives: everyone raises their hands. It's a moment that's supposed to be relatable for viewers, but, is it? Most young people who feel like they don't know what they're doing with their lives aren't overachieving doctors. Most are Dean, who has to put up with being undertipped, not Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who performs brain surgery; Amy, who has to muster as much patience as humanly possible to handle a nightmare of a patron, not Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), who graduated top of her class at Stanford Medical School; and Naomi, who has to make a hot fudge sundae, not Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), who paid for school by modeling and scrubs in for the O.R.
In my 20s, working retail, working at a franchise restaurant, "Can I interest you in a blooming onion?" taking, yet again, another break from college, living with my parents, and spending weekend nights at the local bar, I knew what Dean feels. I was Dean. My parents asked what my life plans were as if I really had any; my job consisted of me trying to convince someone to buy the jeans; I was painfully aware of the new heights my former classmates were reaching; and the glow of recent high school graduation potential for the future began to dim. At the local bar, I'd see my peers, some of who graduated high school only a year before me, look so tired. We were so young yet life had already chewed us up, and now we were just commiserating. Dean feels stuck. I felt stuck. Waiting... knows what it was like to feel stuck, waiting for what's next.
While Shenaniganz is about to close, a couple enters the restaurant wanting to be served, one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a server. Dean takes the last table of the night. As he greets the table he realizes that it's none other than Chett. Chett is beaming with pride at having finished college with an engineering degree and informs Dean that he has been offered a job with a good starting pay. After Chett finishes dinner and is about to leave, Dean notices that he left a $100 bill for a meal that only costs $31.09. Dean goes to Chett to check if he put the right bill in. He did. Chett felt that Dean could use it more than he could. Now Dean is perplexed as to how to feel about himself.
The "In-Between" Phase
As Dean is about to leave Shenaniganz for the night, his manager asks him about his decision on whether he'll take the assistant manager position. Ultimately, Dean decides not to take it, and he quits on the spot. When he gets back home to the after-work party, he tells Monty of his decision to quit. Dean feels good about his decision and decides to pursue college more intentionally. He's come to the realization that his time at Shenaniganz is his "in-between" time, a time in between what's next in his life. And the longer he stays there, the longer he delays what it is that will truly give him purpose.
Though Waiting... is a gross-out indie comedy with a lot of humor that wouldn't be used today, it understood something pivotal about being in your 20s and trying to figure life out while feeling like your life is passing you by. It's a warning not to be complacent; eventually, the after-work party will continue without you. Don't get stuck in the "in-between" phase of your life. So, what are you waiting for?
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