Comedies made by Troma will certainly never win any awards for either sharp wit or exceptional subtlety, but boy are they usually enjoyable and amusing in an admittedly crude and stupid sort of way. This lively and breezy item is a good example of what I'm talking about: Sure, it's extremely dumb and decidedly bereft of any genuine artistic merit, but it still gets plenty of big laughs because it's so giddy, blatant, and unapologetic in its spirited inanity. Directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, working from a busy and loopy script by Charles Kaufman and Michael Stone, keep the movie barnstorming along at a constant zippy pace and deliver a nonstop barrage of gloriously moronic jokes with considerable rip-roaring energy (yep, we get the inevitable gags about a fly in the soup and spitting in the soap). The three female leads are charming and attractive: fetching brunette Carol Drake as sweet and determined aspiring actress Andrea, cute blonde Carol Bevar as naive hick chick reporter Jennifer, and the adorable Renata Hickey as feisty teen troublemaker Lindsey. The rest of the cast joyfully overact with tremendous enthusiasm, with especially praiseworthy contributions by Jim Harris as harried diner owner Jerry, Hunt Block as likable medical student Bill, Anthony John Denison as cocky hillbilly stud Moe, Ed Fenton as uptight Broadway producer Mr. Bellerman, and Augie Grompone as crazed drunken Russian chef Piebalt. Since this is a Troma picture, naturally there's a generous sprinkling of tasty female nudity. Lloyd Kaufman's surprisingly polished cinematography boasts plenty of snazzy visuals flourishes. The infectiously bouncy soundtrack likewise hits the get-down groovy spot. A total hoot.
Review of Waitress!
