I approached this film with some trepidation – Clerks set in a restaurant – but was surprised to find it clever, warm and delightful. OK, maybe not “warm”, but a lot better than I thought it would be. Had a lovely feeling of reality and authenticity (that slightly hedonistic early 20s restaurant world of drugs, alcohol and sex), the cast had real camaraderie, the characters were recognizable (the girl who hates the world who works in hospitality, the lady killer with a taste for high school girls, the Lolita-like vixen at front counter, the two bus boys who slack off and want to be rap stars, the manic chefs), the running gag about showing genitals genuinely funny.
There are flaws, which struck me more after seeing the film: the female characters are under-utilised (Anna Faris is wasted, in particular – you keep expecting her to do something but she only gets to have one monologue), Ryan Reynolds is a little too old for his role, the device of having a wise old black man as a yoda figure is irritating. It’s pleasing to see Justin Long playing slightly less wimpy than usual.
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