Plot: What’s it about?
Wayne (Steve Zahn) and J.D. (Jack Black) have been friends with Darren (Jason Biggs) since grade school, thanks to a shared love for Neil Diamond and minimal social skills. The three have a lot of good times, drink a lot of beers, watch some sports, and even have a Neil Diamond cover band, which plays in the streets from time to time. Darren is a sweet person, but he has bad luck with women and his one true love Sandy (Amanda Detmer) left town before he could reveal his feelings about her. But when he meets Judith (Amanda Peet), he thinks she could be the one, even though she abuses him every chance she gets. Within mere weeks, she controls him in every way you can imagine, from his time with friends all the way to when he is allowed to masturbate, talk about being whipped! But Wayne and J.D. don’t like Judith and her evil ways, so they decide to force her to leave Darren alone, although she seems to outwit them at each turn. But now they have a new plan, which involved kidnapping Judith and setting Darren up with Sandy again, since she is back in town. She is soon to take her final vows to become a nun however, so it all has to happen fast, although knowing these two guys, something is bound to go wrong…
As I watched the trailers for this film, I couldn’t help but think it would be another movie where the leads would be outshined by the smaller roles. It seemed as if Jason Biggs would garner the most screen time, while Jack Black and Steve Zahn stayed in smaller parts, although both have much more to offer than Biggs. But as it turns out, Saving Silverman is all about those background buddies, as Zahn and Black are in fact the central characters. This is what makes this movie so much better than most entries in the genre, as the hilarious buddies are taken out of the background and given a real chance to shine. And Black and Zahn do shine, from their outrageous physical antics to their dead on verbal deliveries, these guys are awesome and carry this flick, to be sure. Biggs is joined by such names as Amanda Detmer, Amanda Peet, and R. Lee Ermey, all of whom kick in terrific supporting level roles. This is one of the best lowbrow buddy movies I’ve seen and with this new R rated version, there’s even more laughs to be had. You could also buy the theatrical (PG-13) cut on DVD, but why would you want to do that?
As I mentioned above, Jack Black and Steve Zahn share the center ring in Saving Silverman, which is good news indeed. I’ve been a fan of both performers for some time and to see them together here, with sizable roles, is a real treat. Black (High Fidelity, The Cable Guy) turns in his usual outrageous performance, complete with crude dialogue and physical demands, all of which is delivered to sheer perfection. He has shown time and again how much he can add to a picture and here, he does that once again and in such fine form. Zahn (That Thing You Do!, Reality Bites) lines up well with Black and since he is able to match his style, the two have superb chemistry, to be sure. Zahn has some great moments in Saving Silverman and as usual, he steals more than a few scenes. The cast also includes Jason Biggs (Loser, American Pie), R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket, Skipped Parts), Amanda Peet (Whipped, The Whole Nine Yards), Amanda Detmer (Final Destination, Boys and Girls), and Neil Diamond as himself.
Video: How does it look?
Saving Silverman is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. I was pretty pleased with the treatment offered here, as the image is quite sharp and shows minimal flaws, good work indeed. I did see a few scenes that looked a little dark, but usually the contrast is dead on, so no real worries there. The colors look vivid and bright, with no errors I could detect, while flesh tones were natural throughout. I also saw no traces of compression flaws, which leaves me to score this one well, another great transfer from Columbia/Tristar.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a dialogue driven comedic picture after all, so the included Dolby Digital 5.1 track isn’t that explosive, but it does sound good enough. The surrounds are used in some scenes for impact reasons, but most of the time the music is the sole resident, although that is by no means a bad notion. The mix comes off as very natural and that’s important, as hollow sounding mixes with unneeded surround presence are horrific, if you ask me. The vocals come through clean and crisp at all times, with no problems in the least to discuss. This disc also includes a 2.0 surround option, as well as subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The focus of the supplements here is an audio commentary from director Dennis Dugan, who provides a good session, but often rambles off topic. This is never too much of an issue, but it does happen from time to time, which slows down the track. He keeps his comments light and doesn’t offer much in depth information, but there is some knowledge to glean, I think. I liked hearing from Dugan and I hope to hear more tracks from him soon, to be sure. I do hope that Dugan is better prepared for the next one however, to avoid some of the slower sections. This disc also includes a series of amusing outtakes, some talent files, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
