SAVING SILVERMAN is a nice attempt to emulate the success of other recent gross- out comedies like THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. Then again, how far has nice ever gotten anyone in Hollywood? The film tries hard (maybe a little too hard) to get laughs, but it just doesn’t pan out.

J.D. (Black), Wayne (Zahn), and Darren Silverman (Biggs) are the best of friends who revel in their carefree, slacker lives. However, their beer-bonging, nacho-eating, Neil Diamond-worshipping lifestyle is turned upside down when Judith (Peet) enters the picture. Suddenly, the inseparable group changes drastically when Darren falls head over heels for the “queen of all hotties.” Blinded by love, Darren lets Judith control his every move, taking the term “whipped” to a whole new level. The new girlfriend takes things too far, however, when she prohibits Darren from hanging out with his buddies. In an attempt to “save Silverman,” J.D. and Wayne mastermind a plot to kidnap Judith. With the evil one out of the picture, they plan to set Darren up with Sandy (Demeter), his old high school crush and self-proclaimed “one true love.”

The chain of events that ensues is quirky and bizarre… but not all that funny. Perhaps Dugan needs a new stopwatch because the great comedic timing of previous Dugan successes, HAPPY GILMORE and BIG DADDY, is more than a little off in SILVERMAN. While the film does have its funny parts, I often felt as though I was forcing the laughs because I knew the comedic potential was there. Instead of SAVING SILVERMAN, I’d suggest saving your money and waiting for video.

—K. Theis

hybridCinema Ratings Guide:

Take a pal and pay full price for both tickets.

It’s worth a full-price ticket.

It’s worth a matinee ticket.

Wait for video rental.

Check out the video from the library, if you must.

While we would never encourage anyone to destroy a video...