Busboys is a chaotic experiment that rarely finds its rhythm
A closer look at Busboys (2026) says something about the challenges that come with adapting the buddy comedy to other genres. The stakes are through the roof when you put your leads in the tense world of restaurant service. Although, it is uneven at best. While the premise suggests sharp satire, the execution feels more like aimless sketches, instead of a satire in a cohesive format.
The collision of comedic personas
The chemistry between David Spade and Theo Von drives the film and how successful they are in playing Markie and Steef respectively. Spade, true to form, brings his classic dry cynicism and this is appreciated. In opposite fashion, Von’s style in this film is to bring an unpredictable, Simon Cowell level unfiltered energy that will keep you on your toes. Despite this style being so energetic, if aligned with Spade, this serves to bolster the snappy timing and witty banter, especially in their training sequences with Tim Dillon.
Despite this, there are moments where the script relies on the leads’ unstructured style of adlibbing unnecessarily, and this leads to unfocused, unfunny scenes and stories. That is to say, Bobby Lee and Kam Patterson’s talent is wasted in the background serving no real purpose despite their opportunity to heighten the physicality of the restaurant. This film is best when not suppressed and instead lets the jobs be filled with physical comedy, but ultimately this is a film about repetitive, dialogue heavy scenes that serve no purpose to the story of the film.
A service industry satire without teeth
Waiting tables may seemingly solve all life’s problems, and Busboys attempts to portray this, but falls short of true skewering of the industry. Jeff Leeds Cohn’s cinematography shows a failing restaurant, depicting the grime and frantic energy of the space, establishing a grounded reality that the script will rarely support. The visual language sets a frantic, claustrophobic tone, and yet the narrative’s stakes remain, surprisingly, rather low, throughout the seventy-nine minutes. The movie strays from the standard formula of buddy comedies by forgoing the redemptive arcs for the protagonists. While some may appreciate Busboys’ breach from the norm, most will walk away from this movie with no resolution to the main problem established.
Who should clock in and who should skip
Users of specific comedic preferences will enjoy viewing this at least a bit more. The film works in a low-stakes environment as a way for the diverse cast of actors to interact with one another. This is not the film for the person searching for an intricately laid out, emotional payoff ending comedy. You’re probably not going to enjoy this.
Skip this if you like your movies structured with a purpose. This movie is best saved for a night where thecast interactions take priority before the story. Busboys is still a funny movie, but messy with no purpose. shows little stand
This film doesn’t allow its cast members to intertwine as much as they could. I personally believe this is a movie built on casting to an audience with little structure. This movie is messy, fast, aimless and contains scattered comedic relief. This movie is best watched if you are looking for something quick.
