MOVIE REVIEW

Saving Silverman  (2001)

Starring: Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Jack Black
Director: Dennis Dugan
Rating: PG-13

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Review Posted: 2.04.01

Spoilers: Yes

Rating: 5/10

By Dennis Landmann

"The ignorance of love dumbed down yet again"

Although brimming with young talent, Saving Silverman disappoints despite its shining cast. The movie uses the same formula common among teen-oriented money-grabbing flicks, complete with the usual dos and don’ts. Darren Silverman (Biggs) and his friends Wayne (Zahn) and J.D (Black) make up a three-man Neil Diamond tribute band. After a small concert, they hit the bar, where Darren meets Judith (Amanda Peet). That same evening, Judith takes Darren home with her.

Six weeks later, the two are officially a couple but their relationship is just so unlikely and undeveloped. Judith, a power-hungry psychiatrist controlling Silverman’s (as Darren is known throughout the movie) life, has got to be one of the worst developed characters in recent teen comedies. Judith doesn't believe in pre-marital sex (no sex before marriage). She encourages him to whack off, even giving him the proper tools. No girlfriend would do that.

The plot comes in when upon seeing Judith’s control-freak ways, Wayne and J.D. kidnap her “away” from Silverman. It's not as easy as they thought, because Judith kicks their asses several times before they get her unconscious. Meanwhile, Silverman's long-lost high school love, Sandy (Amanda Detmer), magically returns. It's not long before Wayne sets her up with Silverman. A rather dumb subplot involves Sandy becoming a nun. It's totally unnecessary and just makes things complicated for the characters later on.

The problems in the movie lie in the structure and execution of scenes. Scenes jump to fast conclusions and don't connect. It's most evident in the scene where Silverman gets zapped and lights a bar on fire (the high-point of the trailer and TV spots). When he and Sandy run out of the bar, the fire department has already arrived. It's just not reality. And that's what bothered me in Saving Silverman. The reality of things in the movie is contrived and formulaic. It's not mindless, like Biggs’ Loser, but just as out of control. Acting is considerably decent and directing by Dennis Dugan (Big Daddy) is standard fare.

Wayne and J.D. are the usual buddy characters. They're actually pretty funny whenever they are on-screen. Steve Zahn and Jack Black couldn't do too much though, because of the material given to them. The Amanda Peet was totally wasted as Judith. Amanda Detmer had at least something to do with her character, showing sympathy where she could and showing off her nice and sweet personality.

The ending of the movie is a disaster. There is no point in ending the movie in such a ridiculous way. But then again, there didn't seem to be any more options, because of the intractable nature of the story. The movie could've been a lot better. The script just wasn't right enough to be a great comedy.

I don't want to contradict myself, but Saving Silverman was fun at times. However, I couldn't help but snicker at some of the inane actions of the characters. An interesting occurrence in naming movies these days has occurred, for example, Saving Private Ryan, Saving Grace, and now Saving Silverman. Will it ever end?

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