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The Slammin' Salmon

R Released Dec 11, 2009 1h 38m Comedy List
35% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A restaurant owner (Michael Clarke Duncan) pits members of his wait staff against one another in a competition to make the largest amount of cash in one night.
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The Slammin' Salmon

The Slammin' Salmon

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Critics Consensus

Potty humor and juvenile antics keep this workplace comedy from being particularly funny or memorable.

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Critics Reviews

View All (26) Critics Reviews
Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News Thirteen-year-old boys big enough to sneak into R-rated movies are presumably the prime audience for this witless comedy from the Broken Lizard troupe. Rated: 1/4 Dec 11, 2009 Full Review Neil Genzlinger New York Times It has its share of funny moments. But it also has its share of tired ones. Rated: 2.5/5 Dec 11, 2009 Full Review Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Much of the film's humor hovers around crotch level. If jokes about mental illness, terminal disease and sex with orangutans sound funny to you, go for it. Rated: 2/4 Dec 11, 2009 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...sporadically funny yet hopelessly uneven... Rated: 2/4 Aug 12, 2010 Full Review Sean Axmaker MSN.com ... a warmed-over blend of bathroom humor, backstabbing shenanigans and humiliation. Apr 18, 2010 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media The ensemble cast is fresh-faced and ready to embarrass themselves with an endless string of vulgar, profanity-filled, and sex-related dialogue, even if they aren't quite ready to deal with adult relationships or emotions. Rated: 2/5 Apr 16, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Erin M Hilarious movie! It’s definitely humour for guys….lots of dumb laughs. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/12/24 Full Review Antonio S This movie is highly underrated. One of the best comedy movies for its time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/24 Full Review Larry K Hilarious movie. Michael Clarke Duncan is so funny in this Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review Mr. H If you like broken lizard, this is a fantastic and fun film. I love it. :) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/10/22 Full Review Chuck People P Had never seen this despite being a fan of the group. Thoroughly enjoy it and even tho it's not their best in my book, just as rewatchable as the rest. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/03/22 Full Review Audience Member The Broken Lizard full-length feature sandwiched between Beerfest and Super Troopers 2 (the troupe produced a film, Freeloaders, in 2012 with cameos from the group), The Slammin' Salmon doesn't get much attention and I wouldn't be surprised if the average viewer didn't know it existed. Like Waiting, you'll enjoy this movie more if you've worked in a restaurant, even if the gags are completely over-the-top. The movie does a surprisingly nice job of keeping the staff's — six waiters and the manager — plots interesting. However, I would've cut Paul Soter's second character (the new-hire busboy) and just focused on the angry chef character, which had some early screen-time but was largely forgotten throughout the film. Cleon Slammin' Salmon (Michael Clark Duncan), is our ex-heavy-weight champion turned restaurateur-villain. He is verbally and physically abusive to his staff, poor with money, and an overall psychopath — he also has many of the best lines, in which he jumbles words and phrases and becomes irate when he is corrected. "Don't assume. When you assume, you make an asshole outta ya self," (para) is a line friends and I still use. However, many of the best lines come from ancillary characters (a trend I've noticed in not-great comedies), including "I'm the black woman from law and order," and "Twins are disgusting man." Jay Chandrasekhar as "Nuts"/"Zongo" didn't get as much screen-time as I would've liked. Even though his wild, alter-ego (Zongo), was cliché and annoying at first, the character was actually one of the funnier subplots by the end. The Will Forte character as the War and Peace-reading "Lone Diner" is a solid gag, which had to end the way it ended. The Slammin' Salmon isn't up there with Super Troopers, Beerfest, or even Club Dread, but it's an enjoyable isolated-location comedy with enough laughs to merit a watch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Slammin' Salmon

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Cast & Crew

The Babymakers 8% 22% The Babymakers Waiting ... 30% 75% Waiting ... Meet Monica Velour 50% 34% Meet Monica Velour Bob Funk 17% 23% Bob Funk Park 33% 48% Park Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A restaurant owner (Michael Clarke Duncan) pits members of his wait staff against one another in a competition to make the largest amount of cash in one night.
Director
Kevin Heffernan
Producer
Kevin Heffernan, Richard Perello
Screenwriter
Jay Chandrasekhar
Distributor
Anchor Bay
Production Co
Broken Lizard Productions
Rating
R (Pervasive Language|Sexual References)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 11, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 28, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$41.6K
Runtime
1h 38m
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