A deconstructionist black comedy about a hapless waiter and his attempts at changing his existence -- through a series of re-writes from the author penning his life.

Take elements of Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead," throw in a little Charlie Kaufman, infuse with an off-kilter sense of humor and add a pinch of surrealism, and you may have an idea of what awaits you in Waiter, Alex van Warmerdam's delightful deconstruction of the relationship between author and character. Edgar, a hapless fiftyish waiter (played with deadpan humor by van Warmerdam himself), quietly takes life's indignities ranging from abusive customers to a chronically ill wife and his needy girlfriend. Beaten, miserable and just plain fed up, the waiter decides it is time for action. Going straight to the top, he confronts his maker, the man scripting his woeful life. That creator turns out to be a nearby screenwriter, Herman (Mark Reitman), and he soon discovers that he is simply a character in an unfinished story. Attempts to wrest control of his life prove mostly unsuccessful, as the author and his imaginative wife take stabs at re-writes of our put-upon hero's destiny. In this droll black comedy, the line between fiction and real life is only a keystroke away.