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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
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Saving Silverman
Click picture to order this DVD (R rated Version) A Techtite Review(Both PG 13 and R-rated versions reviewed) The Film : There's this one scene that I'm always reminded of, in that widely under appreciated ex-teen-show, My So Called Life. One student comes up to another trying to tell him something, and doesn't know if he should come straight out with it, or be subtle, or be funny, or what. He winds up coming out with a half dozen unfinished sentences. The listener finally asks the kid to pick one thought and just "go with it." Such is the feeling I get with Saving Silverman, a comedy that attempts to be many movies at once, yet turned into a garbled mess in the end. The story involves Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs), and his two best buddies since high school; Wayne and J.D. (Steve Zahn and Jack Black). Silverman has fallen in love (or so he wants to think) with a rather obnoxious woman named Judith Snodgrass-Fessbegler (Amanda Peet). As J.D. puts it, she's like the Emperor from Star Wars, with bigger breasts. Unfortunately, Judith likes Wayne and J.D. even less, and threatens to refrain from sex until Darren promises never to see his old friends again. His old friends try to get her to leave Darren, though he's convinced he's in love, while she's in like...sort of. At the very least, Judith is determined to win Darren from his two loser friends, even if she doesn't really love him at all. In comes Darren's true love since high school, Sandy (Amanda Detmer), who he felt had moved away and left his life forever. Hey, Wayne and J.D. think, let's try and get Darren back with a girlfriend who tolerated them, so they can remain friends. How to get him away from Judith? Simple; kidnap her and make Darren believe she died in a car wreck. Okay, maybe that's not so simple. Nor is describing the resulting script. There's a good movie idea here somewhere, yet the writers had no idea what direction to go with it. Should the humor be Farrelly Brothers quality, or Naked Gun movie quality, or just slapstick? Suffice to say, the film tries to be all the above...and such different joke styles just don't mix. Jason Biggs, for example, is shown in one scene getting "butt implants." NO THANK YOU! Another thought was to add some stupid Roman Catholic jokes, that were old in the 1970's (gee, Sandy's thinking of becoming a nun, which means --well, gosh o' golly, Beavis!-- she won't be able to have sex). The addition of Amanda Peet must've made them think of adding dark humor galore, like her under-appreciated comedy, The Whole Nine Yards, though this film's dark humor is often just humorless. The worst script concept, however, was to have the whole story span the length of around two weeks (making the very-deep-minded Darren get over fiancée Judith's car crash in mere days). My advice to director Dennis Dugan; next time, stick with one thought for a film, and just go with it! There are compliments to be had in the film, however. No, really, let me remember them. (quickly shuffling through papers...) The cast, of course, is extremely likeable. There are even a few jokes to laugh at here and there, particularly the slapstick which ensues, when Judith fights like a tomcat against her attackers (this is the new millennium; no helpless-itty-bitty women clichés here). A Neil Diamond cameo is at least worth a small chuckle. All this is worth giving it a marginal thumbs down, at worst. Not a rousing endorsement, I know, though it is enough to keep this film from my personal list, of worst 10 comedies I ever saw (although, admittedly, one of Dugan's worst films, Problem Child, is prominently on the list). In the end, many people felt this film failed, because its poorly chosen PG-13 rating didn't mix with the type of racy humor attempted. Well, now that theory is put to the test, with the R-rated version offered on video and DVD. What is the unedited version like? Well, let's review the DVD to find out... The DVD : In a nutshell, the R-rated version (now available on DVD) amounts to just two added scenes, which I must admit are worth a small chuckle, and play a lot better in R-rated form. The first scene, for example, is of the moment when Wayne and J.D. hire hookers to play to the camera, in pictures they will super-impose Darren's picture on, to make Judith think he's cheating on her. The watered-down version of this scene in theaters just didn't wash; on DVD, the scene includes a rather funny topless game of ping-pong. Even writing that sounds funny...even if it doesn't coax me to raise my rating of the film. The second addition was apparently deleted completely (if memory serves), and involves a Laundromat scene just after Darren and ex-love Sandy fell into the water. An apparent nude body double is used while Darren uses the ol' mirror ploy to catch a sneak peek at Sandy while getting dressed behind him. On the other hand, when handing her clothes to her, Amanda Detmer is topless...though she's covering herself up with her hands. Enjoy the scene while it lasts; that's the last of the R-rated footage, in all its additional 3 minutes of glory. Well, at least DVD fans get an Outtakes reel, of occasional bloopers on the movie set. We see how well the likeable cast worked with each other, which explains the lack of effort on screen; they were too busy goofing off. Jack Black seems to have had the most fun off screen, with many outtakes of improv-type comedy. Meanwhile, Amanda Peet seems to have had the least fun, given how much of a step down this film is from her riotous role in The Whole Nine Yards. One outtake even has her asking if the scene should be re-shot, given that it "sucks blue chunks." Sadly, she could have been referring to the film as a whole. That's about it for the whole DVD, aside from the typical trailers, alternate subtitle tracks (both in English and French), and audio commentary by director Dennis Dugan. One intriguing omission, however, is "Side B," as mentioned on the box. The DVD back cover clearly has the standard promise of "Widescreen on Side A, Full Screen on Side B." Well, that's not very likely, when side B is a full-color label, on this SINGLE sided DVD. No biggie, though...it's not like I want to see the butt implant scene full screen!
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