‘Saving Silverman’ needs saving
When I was a kid, there was “Porky’s,” “Revenge of the Nerds,” “Bachelor Party” and “Animal House.” These were movies any young, self-respecting, hormone-tortured boy would have given all his allowance money for an entire year to see just once.
Now that I’m older, I have wondered to myself: What has happened to such movies? Has this genre slipped into the obscurity of late-night cable or video rental shelvedom? The answer to this question is the PG-13 rating.
This genre of movies still exist, they have just evolved to push the limits of the firmly developed boundaries of the PG-13 seal of approval. They exist under the names of “Sugar and Spice,” “Teaching Mrs. Tingle,” and the most recently released, “Saving Silverman.”
These movies all have enough plot to keep the story going, but beyond that, they are silly, stupid, distasteful and at times extremely funny. “Saving Silverman” is no exception.
Director Dennis Dugan (“Big Daddy,” “Happy Gilmore”) brings to life a story about Darren (Jason Biggs) a nice guy who falls for Judith (Amanda Peet), a beautiful but extraordinarily controlling woman.
Darren’s two best friends, Wayne (Steve Zahn) and J.D. (Jack Black), have vowed to get their friend out of the clutches of his vile girlfriend and create a plan to kidnap her and set him up with his long-lost sweetheart Sandy (Amanda Detmer).
“Saving Silverman” is jam-packed with slapstick comedy, predictable lines and a lot – a lot – of Amanda Peet’s cleavage, which unfortunately, cannot save the film on its own.
A couple of brighter highlights come from the Neil Diamond-worship of the three friends, pinnacled by a cameo by the superstar, and a few extremely funny moments between Steve Zahn and Jack Black.
The rest of the movie is filled with shallow dialogue, potty-humor, homosexual tendencies in a humorous light, and scantily clad women.
I would suggest saving money and skip “Saving Silverman.”
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