''The Absent-Minded Waiter'' is a 1977 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

starring

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

Buck Henry Buck Henry (born Henry Zuckerman; December 9, 1930 – January 8, 2020) was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's ''The Graduate'' (1967) for which he r ...

and

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

. It was written by Martin and directed by

Carl Gottlieb Carl Gottlieb (born March 18, 1938) is an American screenwriter, actor, comedian, and executive. He is best known for co-writing the screenplay for ''Jaws'' (1975) and its first two sequels, as well as directing the 1981 film ''Caveman''. Early ...

. The film was produced by William E. McEuen, who would go on to produce Steve Martin's next six films. The short was screened as part of "The Best of the Shorts" program at

Filmex The Los Angeles International Film Exposition, also called Filmex, was an annual Los Angeles film festival held in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was the predecessor of the American Film Institute's Los Angeles International Film Festival. After the ...

on March 26, 1977 and was also shown at Martin's stand-up shows before he went on. It was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under various names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, "Best Short Subject, One- ...

at the 1977 Academy Awards.

Plot

A couple (Henry and Garr) have gone out to dinner at a fancy restaurant the husband claims has the world's most absent-minded waiter. Martin plays a poor waiter. He has many mishaps, including pouring water before placing down the glasses, forcing the couple to repeat their order of "two martinis" three times, and subsequently bringing them six martinis. The film culminates with the wife becoming angry that she got dressed up, hired a babysitter and then was brought out to a restaurant with such amazingly bad service. The husband pleads with her: "Trust me... trust me." Immediately afterwards, the waiter returns with their "change"—$10,000 worth—before the couple had even paid. As they gleefully get up from their chairs to leave, the waiter comes back to ask, "Two for dinner?" to which the wife quickly responds, "Yes, two please," and the couple then sits right back down at their table.

Cast

as Steven, the Waiter *

as Bernie Cates *

as Susan Cates *

Ivor Barry Ivor Barry (12 April 1919 – 12 December 2006) was a Welsh film and television actor. Born in South Wales, Barry served with the British Royal Artillery during World War II and completed his university studies prior to beginning his act ...

as Carl, the Maitre D' *

Naomi Stevens Naomi Ruth Stevens (November 29, 1925 – January 13, 2018) was an American character actress of film and television from the 1950s through the 1980s. She appeared in almost 100 roles over the years, usually depicting mothers, landladies, gossi ...

as Naomi, the Cashier

Home media

The short was included on the 1993 VHS release of the special ''Steve Martin Live'' and on the 2012 DVD box set ''Steve Martin: The Television Stuff''.Steve Martin: The Television Stuff (1/11) Homage To Steve Clip - The Absent Minded Waiter- Shout Factory on YouTube
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References

External links

*
Excerpt on YouTube
*
The Absent-Minded Waiter
' on

MUBI Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; The Auteurs before 2010) is a global curated film streaming platform, production company and film distributor. Mubi produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusivel ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Absent-Minded Waiter, The 1977 short films 1977 films 1977 comedy films American comedy short films Films scored by Marvin Hamlisch Films directed by Carl Gottlieb Films with screenplays by Steve Martin Paramount Pictures short films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films Films set in restaurants English-language comedy films