Saving Silverman 4/10

Saving Silverman (R) 2001
Reviewer’s Tilt (8)
Comedy-95min
Special DVD Features worth a look-None

Saving Silverman boasts lots of jokes, but little humor. There are some very funny, sophomoric and crude jokes; they just do not happen to appear in this movie. Actually, having watched the DVD, I had to go back and rewatch the trailer to make sure all of the trailer scenes were in the movie. I just could not believe the previous ninety-five minutes had contained thirty seconds of humor. Kudos to the trailer team; the movie does not do your efforts justice. The story involves Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs) being swept off his feet and away from his buddies, by the very fetching Judith (Amanda Peet). While the buddies J.D. (Jack Black) and Wayne (Steve Zahn) initially support Silverman’s fling, they quickly become concerned about Judith’s darker side. Finding themselves not up to the task, they enlist their old ex-con, sociopathic coach (R. Lee Ermey) to set things straight.

There are some tepidly humorous references to Neil Diamond, and Black’s Tenacious D cohort Kyle Gass is very amusing as a forlorn lounge lizard, but that is all there is. The story has potential, it just falters under the paralyzing dead weight of an unfunny script. Unfunny movies are a dime a dozen, but this one is a real travesty of wasted talent. I understand casting Jason Biggs and Steve Zahn, but it is simply selfish and unconscionable to waste the talents of Ermey and Black in a film this poor. While Black and Ermey perform admirably, these shiny nuts are simply not enough to make the remaining lump of excrement palatable.

Format: Color, Widescreen Anamorphic, Closed captioned.
Sound: (Dolby Digital 5.1), (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Extras: Director commentary, deleted scenes; production info; Easter eggs, trailer.