User reviews

As a non-Anglo professional person, having degrees which I worked hard to obtain, throughout I also worked in restaurant service and later as a chef to support those endeavors, so the premise of the film appealed to me for several reasons. Mostly because I work in what is considered to be a cerebral, academic field now where there are times you never have any personal connection with or support for or from colleagues, as compared to the team atmosphere in good kitchens.

But in kitchens/restaurants I've seen them: the "wealthy" or privileged who lost their jobs having to "slum it" in places and with people they might have been polite to when being served but never considered otherwise. They never thought of them at all beyond what they needed at the moment, as people with other goals, professions or may have been artists, writers, very creative people that needed to support themselves in the gastronomy or hospitality business.

It's a fictionalized account of a memoir, a comedy/drama designed to present the main character as sympathetic, and in that I felt they succeeded.Though Jimmy's attitude was, of course, about finding a job to support his now growing family he never looked down or slighted any of the other workers. Never the dreaded and ugly superiority complex for menial tasks. Some reviewers have pointed out, however, he got it easier because of his background to be accepted and trusted in such a position. I don't disagree at all, but some films don't need overthinking.

I didn't feel there was any agenda here to make him some kind of hero, though there is the reality in the US of the WMC having things easier because everything was built to support and facilitate and protect them. Sometimes though? Just watch the movie. The labels of redemption, etc.? Redemption from what? The character's statement of his background, his schooling and yes, privilege might be vexing to some but it was just the truth. If you don't like what was presented and how, help change America to where there is equality away from the century spanning oppression and privilege. Help change the presentation in film too, otherwise: face the facts. He couldn't have changed who were his parents any more than anyone else, but it is what he does with the privilege that's important. He still respected and treated others well, listened to them, tried to help. Whether it succeeded later was immaterial. We were just presented a "slice of life." Jimmy lost a big job from his own culpability then went to work in a comparatively "lesser" job from the perspective of his parents and former colleagues, but found he liked it better as it was entirely more honest. One wishes more WMC might have such an awakening and the country and world would be a better place.

Danny Glover was a nice but typical mentor, but it was a far better role than many he's recently played in low budget/rating action films. Otherwise, the acting was okay in general, and nothing special about the filming or location but I liked it. Yes, there were very stereotypical portrayals of minority people that lessened the whole. That crap really isn't necessary to be comical, and it just unnecessarily brought the film down a couple of levels to maybe get a laugh or two, but I liked the main characters. They were believable. The story wasn't anything new but it was an hour and a half of likability. Also was nice to see "Beetroot McKinley" again.

No, this is not a great movie, and if you're looking for exciting action, move on. But I was surprised to find that the story is one that stayed with me well after I watched the show, in good ways. Unless you're completely unmotivated in life, this movie will probably give you a lift, a little inspiration and when you think about it later, maybe you'll think, "Hey, maybe there's hope for me, too!" I don't think it's corny or sappy, partly because it actually happened.

Definitely a heartwarming movie that brings a smile to my face, at least. Although the story isn't extravagant, not so action packed, not going to here doing this, it's real. It's a real story and it gets to the point of human life. A major part of that is the guilt that can fester within someone.

Guilt can make people do things they might never have thought of doing changing the entire course of the life one could have planned out. It's dirty, forces people to flow and live with the wind of life. But at the same time, one must always be real with oneself. Although life may have changed, the things that will always remain true is the feelings in your heart and head. Truth of feelings is power, power that can change lives.

This can be summarized from crookedness to honesty. Thanks to obeying the feelings in the mind and body an honest character is created, in some stories at least.

An entertaining story with good actors and directing and a believable story line. James Lafferty and Danny Glover do a good job.

When the movie started stating this story was based on real life events I was expecting that the main character James Adams was going to accomplish something stunningly remarkable but in the end it's just not that exceptional, on the contrary it's quite dull and non significant. That said the story is still pleasant to follow, with good acting from James Lafferty, Julie Gonzalo and the rest. Danny Glover plays a character we're familiar with for him by now, the old wise guy that has seen it all, nothing spectacular but it works in this movie. I wouldn't say I laughed a lot, just some giggles, but for a dramady it's worth a watch. It made me crave some waffles though.

This movie seemed like a good way to spend 90 minutes. The description on Netflix sounded interesting. However, the movie comes off as a higher end Hallmark Channel film than something that strives to be innovative.

James Lafferty is James Adams, a recently fired financier who is lost for what to do with himself. He wanders into a Waffle House-style diner and gets a job. There he meets several characters who both work at, and frequent, the diner. Danny Glover lends some weight to the proceedings as a cook. The rest of the cast as unknowns or character actors who have done better things. Julie Gonzalo as Mark's wife barely rises above cookie cutter wife from every other movie about a man who has to change his life. She frets about bills, starting a family, questioning his choice of jobs and or ideas for a new career, etc. (It took me a second to recognize Ms. Gonzalo as Amber from Dodgeball. Has it really been fourteen years?).

Lafferty has a nice easy going personality, but that was my issue with it. He was so laid back and lackadaisical for someone who just got canned from his career that he came off as comatose. The closest comparison I can make is Peter from Office Space, who was hypnotized not to care. James takes his firing and his lack of direction in stride. I guess he's just a better man than me.

At 86 minutes, the movie has a pretty crisp pace. It felt like it needed some more depth and I think some better editing would have worked wonders. Even the supporting characters who are usually nutty and lovable in these types of movies, came off really bland.

The movie is based on a book by the real James Adams.

Just finished watching this movie. I wanted to like it. I worked in the restaurant business for 20 years and I was excited by the premise. The first 15 minutes or so really had me going. It then promptly left me "in the weeds." The script was missing the biting loss of status for its main character. There lacked an intensity of a man putting it all on the line, as well as what the true lifestyle of restaurant employees is really like. That would make a really interesting movie.

This film's intentions are good, but it is a thin veneer of morality and platitudes about making an honest living. The weak plot twist involving the restaurant owner and our hero was forgettable. James Lafferty simply cannot act. This might not be obvious for those who have never been in the service industry, but many of Jim's responses to customers were filled with repressed hostility. People who live on earned tips don't make a living that way. Someone with business acumen would have a better attitude or pick a different career. Danny Glover had nothing of substance to work with. There were some nice moments, but honestly, this was no honest look at life.

Not sure what this film is. The premise is that a hard-driving ethically challenged financial manager working for an ethically challenged firm is used as a scapegoat when things go wrong. With his career in ruins he begins to look for another job and winds up as an overdressed, under-prepared waiter in a chicken and waffles franchise. Cue all the possible clichés at this point... It is an interesting premise if not for how quickly he moves from the world of high-finance to applying for menial jobs. There were a few laughable moments, but in the end I felt robbed of any believable elements in the main characters transformation from scoundrel to an honest, hard-working Joe. From beginning to end this felt like community theater writing and acting with a strong undertone of false modesty. Even Danny Glover doesn't pull this up from the bottom - though his performance was clearly the best of what the movie has to offer - which was very little in terms of message, comedy or drama. Blech!

The story is about greed, loss, and redemption. And that should strike a positive chord in many of us. But this film took a wrong turn from the beginning, as the greedy simply chewed up and spit out one of their own, James Adams, and apparently went on it's merry way. Seeing their fall guy lose a few of his expensive assets didn't garner sympathy from me. It should have brought about cheers from working class folks.....the ones who lost the most in the mortgage schemes exemplified in the opening scenes of the movie.

Instead, when he lands in the middle of a Waffle House rip-off on Main Street, America, they welcome the fallen Adams into their midsts. And the working men and women he meets fit a neat paint-by-numbers stereotype of "We are po', but we are happy". It seems the only person suffering more than a squabble with their wife is our protagonist. He is suffering through a scheme to finance another big deal that could save his way of life. How awful for him.

I took this movie as an excuse for greed. I saw it as a marginalization of working America. Adams' fall was a tiny bit of comeuppance for a small player in a system that stole a massive amount of wealth from the world and got away with it. I am happy for Mr. Adams' real life turnaround and redemption. We are all entitled to redemption. But I am angered by the financial fiasco that was...and still is. I was annoyed at the treatment of working class folks. The film did manage to pull together a relatively cohesive story with nothing more than an endless string of clichés. That takes some skill. And that is why I gave this movie more than a 1.

We are introduced to the main protagonist, James Adams, as a driven, focused man. Every attempt is made to portray him as afflicted with some Aspergers-like, Autistic Spectrum disorder. He is focused. He is blank. He responds inappropriately to social cues. And in that, he is well suited to his original corporate role of legally conning people into bad mortgage investments. These affectations may have been offered up as a reason or excuse for what he did in the financial world, but they do little to bring him to life or to win our hearts as the story goes forward.

The character of Becky Adams, his wife, is portrayed as a spoiled, narcissistic and selfish woman who only seems to offer up real emotions when threatened with losing something she wants. She is also a very unsympathetic character.

It is very difficult to feel their loss. More to the point, I found myself resenting them in their entitlement.

As we go forward, we meet a short list of empty and false characterizations. From businessmen to Realtors to buyers.....the movie failed to miss one stereotypical portrayal. And I am dismayed about the smiling, happy portrayals of cooks, waitresses, and ex-cons. The film's denial of the reality of working class issues shows that it is still rooted in the culture of wealth and greed and the American dream....for those who are privileged enough to still find it.

Danny Glover's portrayal of grill man, Edward Collins was workmanlike, but the character was bogged down with too many tired clichés. Glover tried, but the character was unsalvageable.

The bright spot in the whole movie was Crazy Kathy, portrayed by Dale Dickey. Seemingly outrageous, Crazy Kathy was the most real, most human of them all. But credit also has to go to Adam Johnson for a fine acting job playing the manager, Mathew Linslow. He was very believable and added a hint of humor.....something the film really needed.

We all know adversity and we all hope we can emerge from it as better people. The enlightenment that is found at the end of some personal trial is only a small part of the story. It's the journey that makes up the substance of the tale. That is the meat on the bones. The journey of self discovery lends credibility and validates the big payoff at the end.

This is where Waffle Street fails. Redemption comes. But it's built on a foundation of characterizations that I can only describe as empty, derogatory, and in many cases, insulting. It was as if the "manual on racial and social stereotypes" was used by the writers. The last third of the movie tries to breathe a little depth into a few of the characters, but was too little....too late. This film lost me early on. It never got me back.

Waffle Street is a timely piece about the lessons we all should learn about hard work and rewards. Both of the main characters Jimmy (James Lafferty) and Edward (Danny Glover) have felt the pain of dishonesty and have each taken different roads to restoring faith in themselves while seeing the pressures society places on us all.

Danny Glover (Edward) delivers an excellent performance as the friend and mentor to the silver spooned Jimmy who is struggling with understanding what kind of man he wants to be.

Great family movie and relevant to children and adults alike. The true story makes it an even better, again proving life is always more interesting than fiction. I give it a thumbs up for the whole family.

This movie is bad bad bad. The actng is strained and awkward. It really pains me when you can actually detect people saying their lines. And this trait is not just the main characters, but the entire cast. The story, albeit, cute, is not very believable. Now we get to the cinematography and camera work. I am not a fan of the hand camera technique. I find it unclean,, disruptive. When you are taken away from following the story by trying to get past the bad camera work. The set were cliché, and not very well thought out. I watched this film to the very end hoping it would either improve or have a good ending I am disappointed to tell you, it had neither

In the end titles we see photos of actual people depicted in an enjoyable, but light weight, story. The amusing idea of a well-to-do financier having to find work serving in a fast-food joint was based on real events. The film chose the feel good option, touching fleetingly on some serious economic issues. People relationships feature, centred on the fantastically lovey-dovey central couple. There are glimpses of other less happy couples. I enjoyed the film because of the humour and the occasional flashes of human dilemmas. I feel more of the people's dilemmas in this context would have made a less humorous but a much better film.

Remember the character Ricky Fitts played by Wes Bentley in AMERICAN BEAUTY ? This Movie reminded me of him, and his character, plus he looks a little like James Lafferty the lead JIMMY in this Film. Billed a Comedy and there are plenty of laughs and great work by Danny Glover as EDWARD, this Movie is sort of like psychological torture. Jimmy narrates the story so your always on the edge of your seat anticipating the next frame, which is a good thing. Interesting Cast !! Hilarious Premise. Recommend watching after a late night out partying.

A very bleached out look at a man who, in his past was a vulture capitalist, now after being eaten by his own, must start over from the bottom. Over qualified for everything and unable to be an effective employee he finds himself a pity job at a local waffle café. Even this proves a challenge for the man who only knows numbers and profit in a plush office.

So our suffering hero Jimmy Adams decides he will be the best employee with the most on the job hours to prove he can do it, and do it right. Sure enough little Jimmy claws his way up and into the hearts of his co-workers. Then his big chance comes when the owner of the Waffle café comes in for inspection. Jimmy tells 'the man' he would like to open his own Waffle café. The owner tells him what is needed in order to achieve this goal and 'good luck'. Little Jimmy is just stricken with glee and hocks everything he owns to get 'money'. Then out of the blue or rather 'the far east' comes the new owners all oriental. 'The man' tells little Jimmy it's just business! Once again Jimmy's greedy past shows up to smack him in his face.

What's little Jimmy gonna do?

Before the excellent "Small Town Crime" & original "Fatman", co-directors / co-writers Eshom & Ian Nelms made (with 3rd co-writer Autumn McAlpin) modest (bland) 2015 drama "Waffle Street" - the true tale of ethical James Lafferty (good) being fired from his unethical high-finance job to start over (with big honest dreams) as a minimum-wage trainee at a waffle house (serving Dale Dickey & others with Danny Glover & others)... to the near exasperation of patient (& pregnant) wife Julie Gonzalo. It's a solid, sound, 'nice' moral tale... that lacks any kind of real edge to make it interesting. The Nelms boys would go on to make much, much better films.

Waffle Street does not have a lot of flash, but rarely do you encounter a moral tale anymore, let alone one that is so simmeringly charming. I would actually rate this more like a 7, but hopefully my 10 will boost the reviews to a more deserving overall rating.

I really enjoyed watching this with my wife. It was fun, entertaining, funny and had a really good message. Knowing that all of this really happened really added to it.

I was very surprised at how good this film is. There is not a false note anywhere in it.

There are countless ways this could have gone wrong, including overbearing kitsch, cliched melodrama, or obnoxious bluster. The last thing I expected 'Waffle Street' to be was both lighthearted and earnest. It's at once highly relatable, and inspiring insofar as one wishes more people - the ones in most dire need of an iota of humanity - could be able to relate (or better yet, be forced to). The movie broaches themes of capitalist malfeasance, integrity, hard work, sacrifice, introspection, and more, and does so while crafting a quietly compelling story of heart and sincerity. At no time does the movie strike a major chord of comedy or drama, but I think it's actually better off that way, finding a more even tone and greater balance in the process. This also means it's never actively engaging, coming off more as the type of film to watch while sipping either hot cocoa or a cool beverage; if you're looking for deep investment in your cinematic experience, this isn't it. Yet it's roundly, unremittingly pleasant - and how often these days can a feature be described so simply?

Take one memoir as source material, add in a big name star (Danny Glover) and one or two reliable character actors (Dale Dickey, Yolanda Stange) as anchor points, and the stage is set for film that's passively amusing yet consistently well made and written. Warmth and honesty are the defining characteristics in the acting, all aspects of the writing, the direction, the music, and somehow even the production design, art direction, and costume design. There was significant passion and care poured into 'Waffle Street,' and it was all guided toward ensuring just the right tone and feel of a picture that wanted to meaningfully Be About Something. Dramatic, but not heavy; funny, but not riotous; certain, but not emphatic - this sticks to the middle of the road, but drives it with poise and finesse.

Do these words seem middling and less than grabbing? That's kind of the experience of watching 'Waffle Street,' except for that it's lovely and congenial all the while. While there's nothing about this in the strictest terms of storytelling or film-making that makes it a must-see, the production is refreshing in a way that few titles can really claim. Suffice to say that to look at the basic premise one may have any number of expectations, but the actual movie is both less than we might assume, but more worthwhile because of it. A soft recommendation for just about anyone, there's just not really any going wrong with this.