Syd is fed up with the whole waitress thing. She explains the source of her bottled up frustration by showing us around the restaurant where she works, displaying her most dreaded customers for us to admire: allergic man & picky wife, rudeman, bangerman, the artists from Toronto, the sleazy manager, and (as the most predictable yet inspired character) the unhygienic chef. The film interweaves a variety of caricatures and vignettes of diner life to give a fast-paced, amusing look at restaurant culture. The film tries to cover up its technical ineptitude by pretending to expose itself as a documentary, thus we accept the handheld camera movement and the waitresses who play it up for the camera. Syd is energetically played by Susan Brooks and is the heart of the movie. At least we are offered one character worthy of following for 93 minutes, but unfortunately the writer throws pointless curves at us: Syd runs into an extremely wealthy ex-boyfriend on the street and her parents appear out of nowhere to reveal a secret from her past. But, as was the case with Rose Troche’s Go Fish, these plot non-sensities are easily forgotten as the audience wills itself into having a good time.
The bane of the film festival is that everyone tries so hard to have a good time that they sometimes forget to be honest with themselves. Thus, what some remember as a great film in the theatre turns into a lullaby on video. Worth a look if you were once a waiter/waitress or are considering joining the profession.
