Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I am not afraid to admit that I am a Broken Lizard fan. I dug Super Troopers , but it was Club Dread that made me a fan of the group. A perfect blend of horror and comedy. Vastly underrated, even by Broken Lizard fans. It makes me appreciate the film that much more, it's like the dark horse of the filmography. Beerfest was their next film and again, they scored high in my books. so my excitement rose when I heard there was another Broken Lizard film coming out, The Slammin' Salmon.When the owner of a restaurant owes a Yakuza crime lord $20,000, he decides to hold a competition with the staff. The one who brings in the most money will win a prize. There was something off about this film from the get go, I couldn't put my finger on it until the credits started rolling. Jay Chandrasekhar the director of previous Broken Lizard entries was not the director. Kevin Heffernan was behind the camera. The film isn't poorly directed, just very basic. With Club Dread and Beerfest Chandrasekhar was use to being in the directing chair and would get a little bit more creative with the camera. Heffernan seems a bit timid. The second would be the the film felt familiar. It could be that it's basically another swing at the dinning experience, one which we had earlier with Waiting. The difference being that this is an upscale restaurant, but the jokes, which we have seen before are still there. Some fall flat, others are just right up the groups alley. They also implore the use of twin characters, which we saw in Beerfest. The film stars the usual boys, all doing a great job of course. They have their sense of timing and comedy down pat. Some people don't get or enjoy their comedic nature, but I do. The supporting players are April Bowlby, a waitress who tries to score tips based on her looks and Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) as a waitress who also is trying to become a doctor. Both are great and fit nicely into the film with the boys. The stand out character is without a doubt Michael Clarke Duncan. He has the best lines, the best mannerism and has the most fun with the character. While it is the weakest of the Broken Lizard films (not including Puddle Cruiser) it is still a decent entry. They have yet to disappoint me and if you are a fan of these guys, this film will make you laugh.

Restaurateur and retired Heavy-Weight champion Cleon 'Slammin' Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan) threatens and beats his wait staff into up-selling their customers so that they can earn 20 grand in one evening to pay off his gambling debt. As the stakes are continually raised, so too are the antics that ensue as each waiter tries to outdo one another, earn the ten thousand dollar cash prize, or save themselves from a brutal beating - while all anxiously await the passing of a diamond ring the manager had swallowed.This is an enjoyable edition to Broken Lizards filmography. Like their other films, The Slammin' Salmon features excellent, quirky, and weird characters, and an outlandish plot. Here one can also see and appreciate the group's maturity as there is more situational humor, far less shtick, and relatively little scatological humor as compared to their previous films. This is also Kevin Heffernen's amicable debut as a director.The Slammin' Salmon has fairly good pacing, though it does slow down at times, there are still lots of laugh out loud moments throughout the piece. Of course the true strength of this movie is in the writing and performances. As per usual, the Lizards play a host of characters with personality flaws galore, such as 'Zongo' the OCD/Schizophrenic waiter; or Donnie the alcoholic bus boy with low self esteem. These quirky characters are joined by great performances form Michael Clarke Duncan as 'the champ', April Bowlby as the upbeat 'little train that could' waitress, to the always level-headed Tara, played by Cobie Smulders.This film could have used a better soundtrack, which had been a staple in other Lizard productions. Although they did write a humorous take off of "The Eye of the Tiger" which is featured during the credits. I also found the scenes in the kitchen and waiter prep area to be altogether unbelievable. Though I've not worked as a cook or a waiter, I've scene the frenetic goings on in the kitchen and prep areas, just passing by on the way to the restroom. They didn't capture that feel nor fully capitalize on this norm as these scenes are most always calm and free of frenzy. This, I believe is one major element that makes the film slow down.I enjoyed the film. And a fan of the Broken Lizard troupe, I agree with others that it is not as good as Super Troopers. However, with a piece such as great as that, it will be difficult for them to ever match it. An excellent comedy, well worth watching.

Now that I have finally seen this film I understand why there were so many issues getting it off the ground. It felt like one of those really long SNL sketches that just wasn't working - only even longer. Like most, I enjoyed Super Troopers tremendously - it's endlessly watchable and one of my favorite comedies of all-time. I even enjoyed Club Dread for what it was and feel like it got better each time I watched it. I actually felt like Beer Fest was the weakest of their three major films but I still thought it was great. The Slammin' Salmon takes a giant step back and probably should have never been released. Of course there are some great one-liners and several cheap chuckles but I have no idea why Broken Lizard thought this would be a successful film. Everybody knows what they are capable of and The Slammin' Salmon does not live up the The Broken Lizard name. I feel like this may be another one of those movies where it gets a little better on future viewings. I think I went into The Slammin' Salmon with too high of expectations and was let down by what I saw.This wasn't a completely worthless movie - there were still a few laughs. These guys have sharp wits and I know they are capable of better. Hopefully they will redeem themselves with their next release.

The Slammin' Salmon is actually a pretty funny movie with reasonable replay value. If you like Broken Lizard (Club Dread excluded), you'll enjoy seeing all the familiar faces. I must admit that Michael Clarke Duncan bumped the movie up to a 7 from a 6. He played his role perfectly and delivered one of the funniest lines ever written. The story is simple with minor yet major twists, but enjoyable nonetheless. There are lots of great moments and "punch-lines". If you liked Waiting (the best restaurant comedy of this generation) but cried tears of disappointment when you saw Still Waiting (the poorly written and barely funny sequel), you will appreciate the strong effort Broken Lizard put into this one.