SXSW Review: ‘The Slammin Salmon’

I was overly excited to hear that the new Broken Lizard film would be playing the South by Southwest film festival.   ‘Super Troopers’ and ‘Beerfest’ were hysterical, but I am a huge fan of ‘Club Dread’.   I know.   I’m the only one.   So take that into heart when I tell you ‘The Slammin’ Salmon’, their latest effort, is their weakest.   It might be that this is the first Broken Lizard effort directed by Kevin Heffernan (Farva, for those who don’t know Broken Lizard by their given names) and not fellow troupe member Jay Chandrasekhar.   It shows.

This isn’t to say ‘The Slammin’ Salmon’ is wholly unfunny.   There are numerous possibilities when you are dealing with a comedy about a wait staff at a prestigious, Miami restaurant.   Throw in the fact that the eatery is owned by former, Heavyweight boxing champ, Cleon “Slammin” Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan) who literally decapitates people with his punches.   Add on top of that a Glengarry Glenn Ross-esque competition amongst the wait staff (1st place is $10,000/last place is a broken rib sandwich) and you’ve got yourself a melting pot of potentially uproarious ideas.

It also helps that Broken Lizard rarely takes the easy route with their comedy.   If you are expecting ‘Still Waiting Even Longer’, this isn’t the movie for you.   There isn’t anyone messing with the utmost disgust with someone’s food, as you might expect.

Many of Duncan’s lines are instantly quotable, and the moments where Chandrasekhar’s Nuts goes a little…well, nuts, are insanely comical.   However, much of the other characters are either not given a whole lot of humor to execute or the actors are not at the top of their game.   Heffernan, in particular, seems to be distracted, which isn’t shocking considering this is the first film the guy has directed.

There are some pretty humorous cameos by Lance Henriksen, Morgan Fairchild, Will Arnett, and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder on Heroes).   Ramamurthy actually steals the scenes he is in making you almost think the annoyance of his character on his TV show stems from the writing.

All in all, ‘The Slammin’ Salmon’ is a disappointing effort from a comedy troupe who, five years ago, were about to be the next, huge thing going.   This film, while a minor setback, is still a setback.   It’s funny.   It’s not a complete waste of time, but it just doesn’t seem like anyone is giving their all here.

Overall: 2.75 stars out of 5