If you haven't seen this movie yet but loved the first one, don't waste your time. The fact that Waiting... was so good and both films were written by the same guy (Rob McKittrick) may sway you to see it but trust me...DON'T! Having worked in restaurants my whole life, there were certain things in this movie that did make me laugh but altogether the film was trying too hard to create the magic of the original, sadly giving us a half-ass attempt to make a decent sequel instead.
First off, the main character in the film is the restaurant's manager. In every restaurant I've ever worked in, the manager is hated by just about everybody so trying to get us to care about this character was pretty ridiculous. The next thing that bugged me the most was the character of Agnew who was definitely trying too hard to be like Monty from the first film. The only difference between the two was that unlike Monty, I really didn't like Agnew and couldn't stand him upon his first few lines in the movie. I'm not sure if it was the actor (Steve Howey) or the fact that the character was just a super-douche but I really could care less about the guy.
The movie does feature some of the cast from the original but due to pay and schedule issues, some are only seen for brief moments. Raddimus, Natasha, Dan, Bishop, Nick and T-Dog all return but only have a total of maybe 15-20 minutes in the film. Calvin and Naomi are also featured more in this movie than the previous one but it still wasn't enough to make it enjoyable. The surprise cameo came from Justin Long as Dean who said (after the release of the movie) that he was "truly embarrassed" to be involved in this one. If that doesn't tell you anything...
Another thing that bothered me was trying to figure out if this is supposed to be the same Shenaniganz restaurant as the first or a different location. Obviously the interior of the eatery is completely different but with Naomi, Natasha and Nick still working there, you would think it's the same. But then during Dean's cameo, he said that this location was a bigger dump than the one he worked in. If it is a different place, how would those people still be working together? This is something that still bugs me to this day and if anybody can answer this question for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.
With all the bad stuff there is about this movie, there were a few moments that did make me laugh. The dream about getting slammed, the rush of elderly people for the early bird specials and the cooks getting upset with guys for making changes to a ticket are all things that I have experienced and did make me chuckle a bit. But other than those, the movie didn't have too many laughs that people coming from working in restaurants could relate to.
After watching the special features, it is clear that McKittrick just wrote this movie for the money. He clearly states that he had no interest in writing the film but when he was offered six-figures to do so, he quickly got to work. With them unable to get many of the stars from the original, this film should have gone the route of the first and just focus on the nonsense that takes places while working in a restaurant. The Shenaniganz vs. Ta-Ta's Wing Shack storyline was too much and they should have focused on one or the other. I can only hope that if there's another sequel to this movie, McKittrick & Co. stay as far away from it as possible.
First off, the main character in the film is the restaurant's manager. In every restaurant I've ever worked in, the manager is hated by just about everybody so trying to get us to care about this character was pretty ridiculous. The next thing that bugged me the most was the character of Agnew who was definitely trying too hard to be like Monty from the first film. The only difference between the two was that unlike Monty, I really didn't like Agnew and couldn't stand him upon his first few lines in the movie. I'm not sure if it was the actor (Steve Howey) or the fact that the character was just a super-douche but I really could care less about the guy.
The movie does feature some of the cast from the original but due to pay and schedule issues, some are only seen for brief moments. Raddimus, Natasha, Dan, Bishop, Nick and T-Dog all return but only have a total of maybe 15-20 minutes in the film. Calvin and Naomi are also featured more in this movie than the previous one but it still wasn't enough to make it enjoyable. The surprise cameo came from Justin Long as Dean who said (after the release of the movie) that he was "truly embarrassed" to be involved in this one. If that doesn't tell you anything...
Another thing that bothered me was trying to figure out if this is supposed to be the same Shenaniganz restaurant as the first or a different location. Obviously the interior of the eatery is completely different but with Naomi, Natasha and Nick still working there, you would think it's the same. But then during Dean's cameo, he said that this location was a bigger dump than the one he worked in. If it is a different place, how would those people still be working together? This is something that still bugs me to this day and if anybody can answer this question for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.
With all the bad stuff there is about this movie, there were a few moments that did make me laugh. The dream about getting slammed, the rush of elderly people for the early bird specials and the cooks getting upset with guys for making changes to a ticket are all things that I have experienced and did make me chuckle a bit. But other than those, the movie didn't have too many laughs that people coming from working in restaurants could relate to.
After watching the special features, it is clear that McKittrick just wrote this movie for the money. He clearly states that he had no interest in writing the film but when he was offered six-figures to do so, he quickly got to work. With them unable to get many of the stars from the original, this film should have gone the route of the first and just focus on the nonsense that takes places while working in a restaurant. The Shenaniganz vs. Ta-Ta's Wing Shack storyline was too much and they should have focused on one or the other. I can only hope that if there's another sequel to this movie, McKittrick & Co. stay as far away from it as possible.