The Slammin Salmon (Broken Lizard) : DVD Review

With Monty Python, The Three Stooges & The Marx Brothers long since gone, the “Cinematic Comedy Team” is a near extinct concept.

Thankfully, there’s still one group flying the flag for comedic continuity : Broken Lizard.

Best known for their breakout hit Super Troopers, Broken Lizard have spent the better part of ten years crafting unique ensemble comedies – albeit with dwindling box office returns.

Their latest is The Slammin Salmon [Watch The Trailer Here], set within a restaurant owned by a fictional Boxing Champion Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan).

Team Lizard, again, take a stock standard narrative template (the restaurant needs $20,000 in one night to avoid the wrath of debt collectors, therefore offer a prize to the waiter who can make the most cash) and use it as a springboard to colour in the gaps.

Unlike their previous efforts Club Dread and Beerfest, The Slammin Salmon occasionally suffers from it’s small budget – often looking like a well financed porno sans sex – but thanks to some excellent onscreen chemistry, it manages to tick over at a brisk pace.

Duncan is on absolute fire throughout, while the slew of cameos (including SNL’s Will Forte, How I Met Your Mother babe Cobie Smulders and Heroes’ Sendil Ramaurthy) manage to bring their A-Game to match the output of the Broken Lizard regulars.

The Slammin Salmon is by no means their best, but does improve with repeated viewing, and is yet another example of why “mates having fun” always beats a “collection of well known comedy stars”… something Couples Retreat could learn from.

WATCH OUT FOR | RATING : 3.5 / 5