The Slammin' Salmon Review
Posted by Chad Webb on 12.17.2009
Any movie that can make fun of Dick Wolf and Survivor is ok in my book.
Michael Clarke Duncan: Cleon "Slammin" Salmon
Kevin Heffernan: Rich Ferente
Paul Soter: Dave/Donnie
Steve Lemme: Connor
Jay Chandresekhar: Nuts
Eric Stolhanske: Guy
Cobie Smulders: Tara
April Bowlby: Mia
Will Forte: Horace
Vivica A. Fox: Nutella
Lance Henriksen: Dick Lobo
Directed By: Kevin Heffernan
Written By: Broken Lizard
Release Date: December 11, 2009
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rated R for pervasive language and sexual references.
One of my first reviews for this site was Waiting…, the 2005 comedy about folks who work in a restaurant. That was a comedy that strove for accuracy about restaurant life, but ended up being riddled with clichés. Over the years, Waiting… has gained some cult momentum. I am regularly having people tell me that what happens in the film rings true with their own experiences. This is beside the point. Whether or not any of the scenes were based in reality means nothing. The point is they were not funny. Thankfully, along comes The Slammin’ Salmon, the fifth full-length film from the Broken Lizard gang. They could care less if viewers recall memories of working in a restaurant. Their goal has remained the same for years. They just want to make us laugh.
I remember watching the trailer for The Slammin’ Salmon back in January, shortly after it premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival. Unfortunately, no release date was announced, and the months ticked away, until now, and Anchor Bay has decided to dump the picture in a few theaters and push it quickly to DVD. After Club Dread, the follow-up to the hit Super Troopers tanked, studios have not been as eager to heavily market the Broken Lizard comedies. Like the hilarious Beerfest, and now The Slammin’ Salmon, their efforts must find attention on DVD, which is probably best anyway. Their newest release is not their preeminent triumph, but it is a consistently funny film that will please fans and introduce those unfamiliar to this wacky group.
The Slammin’ Salmon is an above average Miami based seafood restaurant owned by Cleon “Slammin” Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan), a former heavyweight champion boxer that is extremely proud of his accomplishments. He is referred to as “The Champ”, and is feared by his entire staff. One day he approaches his manager Rich Ferente (Kevin Heffernan), and says that the restaurant must earn $10,000 in one day. It turns out “The Champ” owes money to the Yakuza. This is well above the normal daily intake, but a great deal of bodily harm will be dished out to Rich if he does not make this money. He enlists his wait staff to take part in a contest to see who can make the most money that day, complete with a Glengarry Glen Ross scoreboard. His first prize is a pair of Norah Jones tickets, but that fails to light a fire under them. Next is a paid weekend vacation at a popular spa & resort called Persuasions, and that gets them going. But what really raises the stakes is when “The Champ” himself tells the workers the 1st place winner will take home $10,000. The battle is on, but the loser must endure the gruesome fate “The Champ” plans to unload upon them.
As my movie tastes have changed over the years, I find myself less impressed by the myriad of "stupid" comedies that are presented to viewers each year. The Broken Lizard troupe represents the one exception. So many comedies disguise the idiocy of their humor, and try to convey it as genuinely creative and hilarious. The Broken Lizard men do not shy away from the stupid aspects of their comedy. In fact, they embrace it, and charge on with their heads held high. If you're on board, great, but they have never attempted to be anyone they are not. They have remained dependable, yet fresh with their style, and it is why their films are praised by the loyal fans.
For this venture, Kevin Heffernan stands at the helm. This is noteworthy because Jay Chandresekhar has directed all of the Broken Lizard films to date. Each of the members work on and off screen to make the movie as amusing as possible. Fortunately, this is not a Leonard Nimoy to William Shatner directorial hand-off. Heffernan keeps in line with the attitude and approach that Chandresekhar brought to the table, and truthfully, you might not even notice much of a difference. What separates The Slammin' Salmon from previous efforts is that the story unravels within one building, and rarely travels outside of it. However, we do get a glimpse at Persuasions, the pricey spa & resort managed by Jim Gaffigan. Heffernan and company make terrific structural use of the various settings one would find in a restaurant with appropriately timed shifts from room to room. There is nothing fancy in the method of filmmaking, few uses of camera trickery, and a minimal amount of CGI.
Kevin Heffernan plays Slammin' Salmon manager Rich Ferente. In the beginning of the story, Rich is embarrassed by a cocky customer repeatedly, and threatens to quit. At that time the manager is Carl, played by Nat Faxon. He informs Rich of the consequences he will suffer by quitting a job with the Champ. At this point we have not met the Champ, but his reputation is expressed properly as Rich walks down the hall to his office which is lined with pictures of his amazing boxing feats. Rich does not quit, and the story flash forwards a year later, where he is now the manager. This is an intriguing role for Heffernan, who is normally better with obnoxious characters, but he is solid as the spineless Rich. One of the memorable moments occurs when Rich swallows an enormous diamond ring that was hidden in a dessert. We've seen this before of course, but what makes the scene soar is how they go about locating the ring in Rich's body. They use a metal detector, and jiggle his belly incessantly so the ring travels faster down his bowels.
The wait staff is comprised of an eclectic cast of characters. April Bowlby is Mia, the beauty of the group, who easily starts out at first place by using her looks to persuade the customers for larger orders and tips. Sadly this changes when steaming hot soup lands in her face. The other non-Broken Lizard member is Cobie Smulders, best known for her role as Robin on How I met Your Mother. She is Tara, an attractive girl trying to work her way through school. Nuts is depicted by Jay Chandresekhar, the straight laced waiter who follows the rule book to the T until his medication wears off. He then transforms into Zongo, an unpredictable psycho that runs around naked causing mayhem. Eric Stolhankse is Guy, a sort of metrosexual male with 80's style hair and an arrogant demeanor. Steve Lemme is Connor, an actor who just got fired from C.F.I.: Hotlanta and must return to his depressing old job. Paul Soter plays two roles. He is Donnie the cook, and Dave his twin brother, a brand new employee. They do not get along.
The sequences involving both Dave and Donnie are actually accomplished in a more subtle way than usual. Once you know how the technology works to have the same actor as two different people in the same scene, it makes the gag a bit flat. Thankfully this does not occur too often since their humor does not rely on them being together. Dave is told that he must do a shot of Blue Curacao every time he makes a mistake, which leads to him being plastered when Rich promotes him to a waiter for added sales. His brother Donnie, the overbearing cook, does not like send backs, and instead of putting disgusting things in the food like most movies would; he gets his revenge in other ways. If the soup is too cold, he nukes it. If the meat is not done well enough, he burns it, and so on. When these scenes are delivered with the veracity of Soter however, they become much funnier.
Michael Clarke Duncan is perfectly cast as the Champ, and if you ever had doubts about his comedic abilities, this should convince you. He has been in Talladega Nights, School for Scoundrels, and Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, but not one of those really offered him the opportunity to stretch and shine on his own. His endless supply of verbal non-sequiturs here is uproarious, and what makes his persona a blast to watch is how comfortably he plays off the Broken Lizard group. He steals many of the scenes simply because of the enthusiasm he affords without fail. His office is equipped with a boxing bell, which announces "Round 1" every time someone enters, adding to the intimidation factor. He also has custom music that airs every time he enters the restaurant, always with an entourage, and occasionally on a horse.
Not all of the humor is laugh out loud hysterical, but that goes with the territory. All of the Broken Lizard efforts suffer from sporadic flatness. For instance, Connor, the former actor, played a character on a television show with a prominent nose, but Connor gets plastic surgery done so he is better looking. Without the nose, which is vital to that character, he is fired, and replaced by a guy with a nose so outlandishly huge it makes you shake your head and offer a pity laugh. They never leave an excessive amount of time to stew about this though. In the same scene we have nice exchanges with Morgan Fairchild and Lance Henriksen, who plays Dick Lobo (translating as “Wolf” in Spanish).
What is so appealing about the Broken Lizard team is that the comedy and gags are the top priority, while the plot and character development always come second. Not everyone will love this methodology, but they are 5 guys that are only concentrating on what they do best. They remind me of the Marx brothers in that way. No, I am not comparing Broken Lizard to the Marx brothers, but they do possess similar attributes as comedy groups. The crowning achievement of The Slammin Salmon, which concludes with a Rocky III painting image, complete with the song "Cry of the Cougar", written by Paul Soter. It leaves the audience with a smile, a feeling of happiness for escaping the worries of the world outside for the crazy universe that is Broken Lizard.
The 411: The Slammin' Salmon is definitely among the top restaurant comedies (not that it had heavy competition) because it avoids the obligatory clichés in favor of uniquely wacky chaos. Not one of these characters is intended to resemble actual people. They are exaggerated for a reason. It is a shame that this was not given a chance in more areas because the fanbase of the Broken Lizard group is certainly not limited to big cities. Still, Kevin Heffernan does a wonderful job in his directorial debut, and should be given the responsibility more often as far as I’m concerned. Thankfully these guys show no signs of slowing down. Freeloaders and Super Troopers 2 are not far away. Make sure to check this out on DVD. It will make for a fun night.
