The Slammin' Salmon – Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Reviews, Film, Reviews



Those kooky Broken Lizards are at it again. This time they turn their comedic styling on the restaurant business. Which turns out to be a great recipe for laughter as much of this film is inspired things that really happened while they were working restaurant gigs.

Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan) is a retired boxer who has opened his own restaurant, The Slammin’ Salmon. Cleon was in Japan shooting albinos (catch and release only) and bet a high-ranking Yakuza that he could catch more. He lost. Now he owes $20,000 and the only way he can think to get the money is to challenge his wait staff (the Broken Lizards) to a contest. So the staff does anything and everything to win the contest and hilarity ensues.

While the Broken Lizards are in top form with this film the star is without a doubt Michael Clarke Duncan. He is absolutely hilarious as the financially clueless Salmon. Just about ever word out of his mouth is comic gold. This film also features a slew of cameos from the likes of Jim Gaffigan, Will Forte, Morgan Fairchild, Lance Henriksen and Vivica A. Fox amongst others.

Wacky comedies surrounding the wait staff at restaurants are by no means fresh territory, but what the Broken Lizards bring to the table is fresh and funny. You can tell this is a comedy that comes from the heart for these guys; it reaches a level of comedy they haven’t hit previously.

The Slammin’ Salmon is presented in 1:78.1 and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround. This is a pretty good looking film and on Blu-Ray it really does have a nice sparkle.

Two Commentaries: Yes! You get not one, but two boring commentaries! The only remotely interesting part of either of these commentaries is when they point out exactly which moments came from real life. The biggest problem is there is a lot of repeat from one commentary to the next.

Hellish Kitchens: Art Imitates Restaurant Life: (7 min.) The Lizards talk about their time as waiters.

As I was very lukewarm on Super Troopers, I had very little in the way of expectations for this film. So I was very pleasantly surprised when this film turned out to be pretty darn funny. If you’re in the mood for a good chuckle this one is worth a rent.


Anchor Bay Films presents The Slammin’ Salmon. Written by Broken Lizard. Directed by Kevin Heffernan. Running time: 98 minutes. Rated R for pervasive language and sexual references. Released on DVD: April 13, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years