Waitress!

Director(s) - Michael Herz (Troma's War, The Toxic Avenger) and Lloyd Kaufman (Shakespeare's Shitstorm, Terror Firmer)

Starring - Jim Harris (Squeeze Play, American Ninja 4: The Annihilation), Carol Drake, and Carol Bevar (The Yum Yum Girls)

Release Date - 1982

Genre - Comedy

Tagline - "The fun starts as soon as you're seated"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When cult movie fans discuss Troma they often talk about their horror efforts like The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'em High, Poultrygeist, Terror Firmer, and so on.  Troma's gruesome and often messy stamp on the genre is undeninable.  Co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, and to a lesser extent Michael Herz, has inspired filmmakers for almost 50 years now which is an impressive feat in it's own right.  However, many fans often over look their early efforts.  In the late 70s and early 80s the sex comedy was very popular and with the coming age of VHS Troma decided to try their hand at it.  Drawing inspiration from films like Animal House and Porky's, Troma would release several sleazy comedies which they would release in a DVD box set called the Sex Box.  With DVD now on the way out and blu-ray holding strong, Troma has released three of those films in a new Sex Box on blu.  When I heard the news I ran as fast as I could to my computer and requested a copy from my friends over at MVD who was kind enough to send a copy over.  While I was in the middle of an inpromptu Troma marathon I decided to spin this set starting with 1982's Waitress!  Like always, I want to thank MVD for hooking me up!

     The film follows three women who find themselves working at a questions restaurant for various reasons.  One of the women is on the hunt for a man.  Her gorgeous good looks but simple mindedness has men falling heads over heels for her but she fails to see it.  Another waitress is an aspiring actress and will stop at nothing to portray her favorite historical character, Joan of Arc, on the big screen.  The third waitress is the daughter of the restaurant owner who has made some questionable decisions in her short life before she is forced to work here as a form of punishment.

     Waitress! is a film I've owned for some time after I snagged the Sex Box set on DVD for cheap many years ago.  However, I never got around to actually watching this one.  I had seen The First Turn On sometime ago but I never ventured farther into the set with the other two titles.  This is why I decided to start with Waitress!  I really like the artwork for the film.  It's not only a true product of it's time but it really had my imagination working overtime.  Sadly, the film was not that fun.  It has a few good laughs but it's nowhere near as enjoyable as the artwork.  The acting in this one is exactly what you would expect from a Troma film from the 80s.  The cast is energetic and extremely comfortable in front of the camera but their inexperience does show.  The dialogue is awkward at times but the cast really does give it their all.  The downside to this is that the characters are all fairly generic and easily forgettable which gives the cast nothing to really work with.  The story for this one has all the wild jokes and puns that you come to expect from a Troma film but the rapid scene change, chaotic scenes, and underwhelming story does make this one a bit of a snooze fest for movie fans.  It was clearly rushed through to cash in on the VHS comedy craze.  Finally, don't expect any blood or guts.  We get some nudity but that is about the only fun visuals that we do get.  Overall, Waitress! is not for the standard Troma fan.  This film did help pave the way for the more memorable films that we know and love but is not one I can recommend.  I love Troma and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but this movie just wasn't fun.  Skip it.