Waffle Street is a 2015 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms and starring Danny Glover and

James Lafferty James Martin Lafferty (born July 25, 1985) is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/ CW teen drama television series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012). Early life Lafferty was born ...

. It is a film adaptation of James Adams’ memoir of the same name, published by Sourced Media Books in 2010. The riches-to-rags story follows Adams’ journey of self-discovery and redemption after losing his job as vice president of a multi-billion dollar

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as s ...

and finding work as a server at a local 24-hour diner. Waffle Street was filmed in Lehi, Utah in 2014, with most of the scenes being filmed in a local diner called One Man Band. It was named winner of Best Narrative Feature at the 2015

Hollywood Film Festival The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA. History The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.P ...

, the Audience Award Best Feature at the 2015 Red Rock Film Festival, and the Andretta Carpe Diem Award for Best Film at the 2015

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...

. It initially released on September 24, 2015.

Plot

In the aftermath of the 2008 market crash, James “Jimmy” Adams (

) gets laid off from his Wall Street hedge fund manager job. Feeling a sense of guilt for his role in the financial crisis, Adams decides to find a more honest and gratifying job than his previous profession. After several unsuccessful efforts applying to a variety of blue-collar jobs, Adams is hired as a graveyard shift server at Papa’s Chicken and Waffles, a local 24-hour diner chain (the restaurant was renamed in new versions of the book and in the film). Though many of his coworkers are ex-convicts, he begins to find unlikely friendships, especially with short-order cook Edward Collins ( Danny Glover). Collins becomes somewhat of a mentor for Adams, teaching him valuable life lessons about hard work and finance from a fresh perspective. Adams soon sets his sights on owning the Papa’s franchise and works relentlessly to meet the 1000-hour minimum required. Tensions build between Adams and his wife, Becky (

Julie Gonzalo Julieta Susana "Julie" Gonzalo (; born September 9, 1981) is an Argentine actress. On television, she has played Parker Lee on '' Veronica Mars'' (2006–2007; 2019), Maggie Dekker on ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), Pamela Rebecca Barnes on the so ...

), as he downgrades their house and cars to finance his goal. Overall, his time working at Papa’s offers Adams new insights both professionally and personally. After six months at Papa’s Chicken and Waffles, Adams returns to the finance industry, this time focusing on financial planning and wealth management. He is seen assisting his former Papa’s colleagues with financial planning and business start-up advice.

Cast

* Danny Glover as Edward Collins *

as James “Jimmy” Adams *

as Becky Adams *

Dale Dickey Diana Dale Dickey (born September 29, 1961) is an American character actress who has worked in theater, film, and television. She began her career on stage, performing in the 1989 Broadway version of ''The Merchant of Venice'', before appearing ...

as Crazy Kathy *Adam Johnson as Matthew Linslow *

Marshall Bell Archibald Marshall Bell (born September 28, 1942) is an American character actor. He has appeared in many character roles in movies and television. He is known for roles in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'' (1985), '' Stand by M ...

as Miles Drake III *

Ernie Lively Ernie Lively (born Ernest Wilson Brown Jr.; January 29, 1947 – June 3, 2021) was an American actor and acting coach, and the father of actors Lori Lively, Jason Lively, Robyn Lively, Eric Lively, and Blake Lively. Life and career Lively was ...

as Wright Adams *Yolanda Wood as Jaqui White * Aubrey Reynolds as Mary Lynn Parks *Michelle Lang as Nancy Linslow

Awards and selections

*Winner Best Narrative Feature,

2015 *Winner Audience Award Best Feature, Red Rock Film Festival 2015 *Winner Andretta Carpe Diem Award,

2015 *Winner Screenwriter Award,

Coronado Island Film Festival The Coronado Island Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Coronado, a resort city across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It consists of a four-day festival in November – and a monthly year-round "Classic Movie Seri ...

2016 *Official Selection, Closing Night Film,

Tallgrass Film Festival The Tallgrass Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Wichita, Kansas, specializing in independent films. It was founded in 2003 by Timothy Gruver. Gruver was raised in Wichita. He studied filmmaking at Brigham Young University. After c ...

2015 *Official Selection, People’s Choice Competition Biff Year ‘Round 2015 *Official Selection,

Cucalorus Film Festival The Cucalorus Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is one of the largest film festivals in the U.S. South and recognized as a destination film festival for indie filmmakers. MovieMaker magazine recogni ...

2015 *Official Selection, Macau International Movie Festival 2015 *Official Selection,

Heartland Film Festival The Heartland International Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festival was first held in 1992, its goal is to "inspire filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion pictu ...

2015 *Official Selection, On Location: Memphis Film Festival 2015 *Official Selection, Ojai Film Festival 2015 *Official Selection,

Beloit International Film Festival The Beloit International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival in Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in ...

2016

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes , waffle_street , Waffle Street 2010s English-language films