Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Michael Clarke Duncan, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin heffernan, Steve Lemme,
Paul Soter, Cobie Smulders, April Bowlby, Jeff Chase, Carla Gallo, Will Forte | Written by Broken Lizard
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 94 minutes | Directed by Kevin Heffernan
The former world heavyweight boxing champion, Cleon Slammin' Salmon (Duncan), owes a Yakuza boss $20,000 in gambling debts. So he challenges the waiting staff of the upmarket Miami seafood restaurant he owns (called The Slammin' Salmon) to make the money in one night – the winner gets $10,000, and the loser gets beaten to a pulp.
And that's pretty much the plot of this mediocre effort from the comedy group Broken Lizard, who were also responsible for Super Troopers, Club Dread and Beerfest. We get lost of silly shenanigans in a restaurant. Lots of pratfalls, lots of swearing and lots of gags that you can see coming from a mile away. The usual Broken Lizard folks are all present and accounted for – plus there's also the lovely Cobie Smulders from the hit TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother, clearly trying to break into films. Some advice, Cobie – give this sort of stuff a miss in future. There are also cameos from Vivica A Fox, Morgan Fairchild, Lance Henriksen and that bloke from Heroes.
And that's about all I have to say on this one ... so let's see what some other critics had to say about the film. “I laughed throughout The Slammin’ Salmon” – DVDtalk.com. Really? Were you remembering a bunch of hilarious jokes you'd heard the week before? “90 minutes of truly inspired comic mayhem” – Cinematical. No, it isn't – the "inspired comic mayhem" adds up to about 3 minutes and 47 seconds. “The best work Broken Lizard has ever done” – Cinema Blend. No, it isn't. "Be impressed and amazed” – ComingSoon.net. No, I wasn't.
EXTRAS ★ The theatrical trailer. Plus two featurettes – Hellish Kitchen (6 minutes) in which the Broken Lizard crew talk about the time they all worked as waiters; and Paul's Pre-Show Announcement (41 seconds) in which Paul Soter, dressed as a police officer, reads out some stuff to an audience.