Saving Silverman Synopsis: A pair of buddies conspire to save their best friend from marrying the wrong woman, a cold-hearted beauty who snatches him from them and breaks up their Neil Diamond cover band.
When their best friend, Darren Silverman, gets engaged to the controlling and manipulative Judith, Wayne and J.D. go to extreme lengths to pull him away from her tight grip. After most of their schemes fail, they eventually kidnap Judith and fake her death to push Darren toward his high school crush, Sandy.
Saving Silverman epitomizes the kind of comedy that was popular in the early 2000s. It leans heavily into slapstick humor, bordering on the absurd. But it’s clearly not a movie aiming for sophisticated comedy. Instead, it’s filled with immature gags and nonsensical plot devices.
However, the wild performances of Steve Zahn and Jack Black save the movie from being a complete failure. As Wayne and J.D., they approach their roles with chaotic energy, providing most of the film’s laughs.
Jason Biggs plays Darren with sincere sweetness, making it hard to understand what he finds attractive in Judith (Amanda Peet), who shows little interest in him beyond wanting to control him. He and Sandy (Amanda Detmer) make a cute couple, even though Sandy’s backstory, wanting to become a nun after losing her true love in a circus accident, is just as silly as the rest of the movie. Saving Silverman goes all out with its outrageous premise, becoming even more ludicrous as it stumbles toward its conclusion.
Though the film is only 93 minutes long, it feels longer, and yet… I don’t have much to say about it. The jokes become repetitive, and the characters grow increasingly cartoonish as the story unfolds. Logic does not apply in Saving Silverman. However, it does have a few genuinely funny moments, thanks to the hilarious performances of Steve Zahn and Jack Black. If you’re looking for something mindless and over-the-top, you might enjoy it, but don’t hold me to that!
Watched: 03/22/2025
Notable Song: Hello Again by Neil Diamond
