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"SAVING SILVERMAN" (2001) (Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Extreme *Minor Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Minor *None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Minor None Mild *Heavy QUICK TAKE: Comedy: When two men can't convince their friend that his girlfriend is the wrong woman for him, they set out to do what they can to break up the relationship. PLOT: Darren Silverman (JASON BIGGS) and his buddies Wayne (STEVE ZAHN) and J.D. (JACK BLACK) have been best friends for years and even have a band, Diamonds in the Rough, named after their musical idol, Neil Diamond. Since Wayne, a pest control wrangler and J.D., a fired Subway employee, know that Darren, a social worker, has never gotten over Sandy (AMANDA DETMER), the girl of his dreams from school, they decide to fix him up with someone else. Their latest target is Judith (AMANDA PEET), a pretty but vexed psychologist they spot in a bar. Although Judith initially wants nothing to do with Darren, the two hit it off and become romantically involved. Once around the demanding and unfriendly new girlfriend for several weeks, however, Wayne and J.D. decide she's not the right woman for him, particularly after she tells Darren that he must quit the band and never see his friends again. Unfortunately, Judith has already proposed to him and Darren seems unable to see what sort of woman she really is. As such, Wayne and J.D. then set out to do what they can to break up the relationship, including kidnapping Judith, reintroducing Darren to Sandy who's about to become a nun, and enlisting the aid of their former football coach (R. LEE ERMEY) and even Neil Diamond (NEIL DIAMOND) himself in their scheme. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Teens are the target demographic and they and anyone who's a fan of anyone in the cast will probably want to see it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For crude and sexual humor, language, and thematic material. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JASON BIGGS plays an amiable young man who falls for a woman who completely dominates him. He fools around with her some (but apparently doesn't have intercourse) and uses some profanity. STEVE ZAHN plays his friend who, with J.D., goes to extreme measures to try to break up Darren's relationship and pending marriage to Judith. He also uses profanity and drinks. JACK BLACK plays their other friend who helps Wayne with those efforts and learns that he's gay while doing so. He drinks and is generally a slob. AMANDA PEET plays Darren's pushy, demanding and irritable girlfriend/fiancée who's mean to practically everyone, uses profanity, and must figure out how to escape from Wayne and J.D.'s kidnapping scheme. AMANDA DETMER plays Darren's former love who's now come back into her life and must choose between him and becoming a nun (she chooses the former after briefly fooling around with him). R. LEE ERMEY plays a no holds barred, tell it like it is football coach who was serving time for being responsible for a ref's death during a game, and tells Wayne and J.D. to kill Judith so as to resolve their complicated situation. NEIL DIAMOND plays himself. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a quick look at the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. All sorts of sexually related material is present, including various instances of related dialogue, implied off-screen oral sex, references to masturbation, some onscreen fooling around, and the revelation of several characters being gay (and briefly kissing). We also briefly see an older man's bare butt, several views of the sides of men's bare butts, and various images of women in their bras or other revealing attire. Profanity consists of at least 8 "s" words, various slang terms, other expletives and many colorful phrases. Some crude humor is present, including the partial sight of a man relieving himself and another having "butt implants" being inserted into bloody incisions in his buttocks. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (all played for laughs such as the two guys kidnapping a mean girlfriend), while they and others also drink in several scenes throughout the film. Violence consists of all sorts of people hitting, punching and/or knocking others unconscious, several flashbacks to non-graphic/explicit deaths (all played for laughs), and some threatening with weapons and people being shot by tranquilizer darts and shocked by electric prods and other such devices. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may want to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for specific examples of what occurs in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE In a flashback, the football coach briefly tells his players that if they get any sexual urges they can't suppress with hard liquor that they should "use this" (their hands). The three guys have beers. They do so again, where others also have various drinks. Judith orders a scotch for herself and changes Darren's order from a beer to a gin and tonic. J.D. guzzles down beer from a beer bong at his place, while Judith says that she'll have a scotch on the rocks. The three guys have beer. Wayne and J.D. have drinks with two hookers they've picked up. The three guys have beer. People have drinks at an engagement party. Darren and J.D. have beer, while others around them also have drinks. Sparks set alcohol on a bar top on fire. The coach drinks some leftover beer from a can in Wayne and J.D.'s place. BLOOD/GORE We hear a woman's water break (from being pregnant) at a concert, but don't see anything. We see a flashback to when Darren got "butt cheek implants" and see two somewhat bloody looking incisions on both of his bare butt cheeks (with a surgeon lifting one and putting an implant under the bloody skin). There's some brief talk of J.D. lighting farts back in a high school science class and that he singed his "ball sac" in the process (none of which is seen). We see a partially covered cut on Darren's forehead (from where he wrecked on his moped). The coach shows up at Wayne and J.D.'s place, asking to stay. He then asks where the bathroom is, indicating that he "has to take a dump." The guys, who want to make him leave, then act like there's no running water in the house, stating that they use the lawn to relieve themselves. The coach then tells them that's smart thinking and goes out next to the driveway, lowers his pants and squats down on the lawn. J.D. then comments that the coach is "pinching loaves" on their lawn (but we don't see anything graphic in that context, although we hear a farting sound). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE In a flashback, we see some kids purposefully trip Darren with a rope in the lunchroom. The guys refer to women as "chicks" and "hotties" and one in particular as a "juicy, succulent peach." Judith has a bad attitude toward everyone, insulting a man who tries to pick her up at a bar and then in every way in which she treats Darren (including telling him that he can't ever see J.D. or Wayne again and that he has to quit the band). She also tells Wayne and J.D. that she'll kill them if they get in her way. We hear that Wayne and J.D. stole Neil Diamond's shirt in the past. Wayne and J.D. set out to do whatever they can to break up Darren and Judith's romance, engagement and then pending marriage (including making doctored photos of Darren with some hookers, physically kidnapping Judith, and digging up a dead body to rig in a faked car accident). A football coach has both for killing a ref during a game (albeit somewhat accidentally) and for telling the kidnappers that the only way to resolve their problem is to kill Judith. The coach backs a van through a wall to allow some prisoners to escape. FRIGHTENING SCENES It's possible that some viewers could find scenes listed under "Violence" as unsettling or tense, but all of them are played for goofy laughs rather than realism. GUNS/WEAPONS Tranquilizer gun: Carried by Wayne to subdue some animals, but used on humans on several occasions as well. Handgun: Nervously aimed together at Judith by Wayne and J.D. Handguns: Aimed by the police at some men as they're arrested. Machine gun/automatic weapon: Carried by the coach. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "You freaking piece of sh*t," "Sh*tty," "Bullsh*t," "Oh sh*t," "You suck," "Chicks" and "Hotties" (women), "Jerk," "Baldy" and "Porky" (what Judith calls a guy with a receding hairline), "Taking a whiz" (urinating), "This blows," "Wanking off" (masturbation), "Get the hell out of here," "Kick her ass," "Idiots," "Ball sac" (scrotum), "Nut" and "Balls" (testicles), "It sucks," "Who the hell are you?" "Screwed up," "Horny," "What the hell happened," "Up yours," "Go to Hell," "Loser," "Skank," "Leave me the hell alone," "Jeez," "That took balls," "Shut up," "Where's the bathroom, I gotta take a dump," "What the hell do you do?" "Bitch," "What the hell is going on here?" "Tramp," "Frickin'" and "Slut." Wayne and J.D. doctor some photos to put Darren's head on their bodies to make it look like he was out with some hookers. We see Wayne up a power pole wear he cuts various lines with some bolt cutters and then purposefully short circuits a junction/power box on that pole. Wayne and J.D. kidnap Judith and keep her confined (in various ways) in their place (all played for laughs) and also dig up a dead body to place in a faked car accident scene. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A tiny bit of comically suspenseful music plays during the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None that he we heard, although some songs had lyrics that couldn't be understood (thus offering the possibility of something objectionable being in them). PROFANITY At least 8 "s" words, 1 slang term for sex ("screwing"), 1 slang term for male genitals ("dong"), 2 slang terms for breasts ("t*ts"), 9 hells, 6 damns, 4 asses (1 used with "hole"), 1 S.O.B., 9 uses of "Oh my God," 6 of "God," 5 of "G-damn," 2 of "Oh God" and 1 use of "For God's sakes" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY In a flashback to high school or college, we see Darren looking up his female cheerleading partner's skirt while holding her up during a cheer (and we briefly see a close-up view of her panty covered crotch). In another flashback, we hear the football coach telling his players to stay away from women, stating, "All they want from you is your man juice." He then adds that if they get any urges they can't suppress with hard liquor, "use this" (and he holds up his hand, implying masturbation). We briefly see a close-up of an older man's bare butt as he stands (with his pants down) after winning at bingo. Wayne tells Darren that he doesn't want a "chick that would do a mime" (after a girl he's interested in tells him that she's seeing a mime). J.D. then jokingly asks what a mime looks like having sex anyway (and then proceeds to make all sorts of exaggerated faces and acts like he's squeezing some breasts with his hands). A person tells Judith, "Let me guess, that jerk tried to get into your pants with some tacky pick up line." We see Judith in her bra and slip in front of Darren (thus suggesting they've been intimate to some degree). Darren then says that since they've been seeing each other for six weeks, that it's time for them to get more intimate. She asks if that means he wants to have sex and he replies that he does. She then says that she doesn't believe in premarital sex and that she doesn't want it to ruin what they have together. However, she then adds, "That doesn't mean we can't pleasure each other in other ways" as she goes down his body and then pulls him down to the floor (out of the camera shot). Moments later, we see them in bed together and she tells him that "it was great" (as he adjusts his jaw, thus implying that he had oral sex with her). As he then apparently waits for the same in return, she hands him a porno magazine (we briefly see the cover from a distance that may show a topless or at least scantily clad woman) and a container of hand lotion, telling him, "Have fun" as she rolls over (implying that he's supposed to masturbate with both). Judith wears an outfit that's open in the front, thus allowing our view of the inside sides of her bare breasts. After Darren refuses to follow Judith's order to quit the band, she tells him that means no more sex and that she's taking away his "masturbation privileges." We see a flashback to when Darren got "butt cheek implants" and see two somewhat bloody looking incisions on both of his bare butt cheeks (with a surgeon lifting one and putting an implant under the bloody skin). Wayne says that Judith's disruption of their lives has led to an increase in "wanking off" (masturbating) and J.D. then adds that he's chaffing from that. Wayne tells Judith that J.D. might not look like much, but that the women call him "the human power tool." She then tells one of the guys that he has quite a grip, and that she imagines he must "play a lot of pocket pool" (masturbates), and that she guesses he does so three times a day. She then adds something about a "big bang" and that the next thing he knows, "you're limp." We see some scantily clad hookers on the street that Wayne and J.D. pick up (with one telling them it will cost $50 for Wayne and $200 for J.D.) and have drinks with (but apparently don't do anything sexual with them, although we see the women in their bras with cleavage as they play ping-pong with Wayne who's shirtless). We hear that J.D. went to the school dance wearing a painted on tuxedo that ran when he spilled some sort of liquid on him, thus exposing his "dong" to everyone (not seen, just described). Judith wears a dress that shows a great deal of cleavage/the inside sides of her bare breasts. Wayne and J.D. briefly mention some women and their "t*ts." We see Judith in bed wearing a nightgown and see some cleavage. While digging up a dead body, one of the guys says, "Oh my God, this dead chick is really stacked." J.D. brings Judith (as the kidnapping victim) some videotapes and states that they're porno and monster truck themed, with one having both. Judith then convinces J.D. to allow her to give him a therapy session. During it, she asks if he's ever fantasized about having sex with a man. He then asks which man and then skirts the issue, and she asks him the question again. Later, he eventually realizes and admits that he's gay. He later asks Wayne if he wants to be gay with him (but Wayne declines the offer). While trying to flee from Wayne and J.D., Judith frantically bangs on a person's door. An older Japanese man then sees her, comments about her being horny and prepares to let her in (but ends up falling down his steps). Sandy talks to the Mother Superior about second thoughts and certain feelings she's been having. The Mother Superior then asks, "Sexual feelings?" Judith asks Wayne when's the "last time you got any?" and then adds that she bets it's been years, and that any woman who was with him either killed herself or became a lesbian. We see the side of Wayne's bare butt as he appears to be doing yoga, completely in the nude (although some might think - correctly or not -- he's trying to do something else sexual to himself as his legs and crotch are bent back over himself - with his toes on the floor behind his head -- as he lies on his back on the floor). Sandi shows some cleavage, and she and Darren then briefly make out. Judith starts to act sensuously toward Wayne (so that she can escape) while bound to a chair. Some sauce from a sandwich drops down into her cleavage and he uses his finger to wipe it out from there. She then suggestively opens her mouth to lick off that finger (which she does) and he then passionately kisses her and does so as well down into her cleavage. He then frantically tries to get the chains off her and she asks that he just free one of her hands, promising it will be worth it to him. He does and she puts that hand down inside his pants, but the doorbell interrupts them. We see the side of the coach's bare butt as he squats down on J.D. and Wayne's lawn to relieve himself. Sandy takes off her shirt in front of Darren and we see her in her bra. She then asks if his couch folds out and then the two passionately kiss while partially lying on that sofa. Judith then interrupts them before anything else happens, and we again see Sandy in her bra, but now notice that her pants are partially unzipped (with a view of the top of her panties). Judith then states that she's gone for just a week and "you're screwing a nun?" Wayne says that he's some prisoner's "girlfriend," causing J.D. to state that he wants to meet that man. We see Sandy dressed in a typical hooker's, skimpy and tight outfit (which belongs to J.D.'s unseen sister who's reportedly a stripper). After J.D. tells him that he's gay, the coach announces that he is as well (and the two are then married and we see them kiss). SMOKING A few miscellaneous characters are briefly seen smoking in several scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Wayne and J.D.'s reluctance to let their friend have a relationship with Judith and the extreme measures they take to try to break up their relationship. The way that Judith treats Darren and what he possibly sees in her. The various elements used by the filmmakers in trying to elicit laughs from the audience. VIOLENCE Most of what's listed below is played for laughs rather than realism. In a flashback, we see some kids purposefully trip Darren with a rope in the lunchroom. We then see a girl punch Wayne (when both are kids) and he tries to punch her back, but she ducks, grabs him and then drags him down the lunchroom table (emulating any scene from a western where they do the same to some guy on the top of a bar). In another flashback, the football coach throws a player across the water table. We briefly see some standard, hard-hitting football violence during a game. In a scene played for laughs, a mother raccoon jumps on Wayne's face, causing him to spin around, trying to get it off. While doing so (and with it still attached to his head), he smashes it into some wooden steps and then throws it to the ground where he shoots it with a tranquilizer. Nevertheless, it jumps on his face once more and he throws it to the ground again before running off. In a flashback, a security guard punches J.D. in the face for coming out and hugging Neil Diamond. Wayne kicks J.D. under the chairs/stools they're sitting on. Wayne and J.D. push food into some other men's faces at an engagement party they've crashed, briefly struggle with them and are then physically removed from the premises. Judith kicks Wayne and his tranquilizer gun when he tries to kidnap her, causing him to be shot in leg. She then chases J.D., kicks open a door, and grabs him by his head. She then kicks him in the butt and then repeatedly dunks his head in a toilet until Wayne shows up (who she initially kicks backwards) and then zaps her with some sort of electric prod that shocks both her and J.D. In a flashback, a trapeze artist loses his grip with his partner and falls to his death (the impact isn't seen and it's all played for laughs). Wayne and J.D. send a car (containing an already dead body inside it) over a rocky cliff where it crashes and catches on fire. In a flashback, we see the football coach heave a game down marker (that's on the end of a pole) through the air like a javelin at a referee. Although we don't see the actual impact, the pole impales the ref and we then see him lying on the field with the pole sticking out of his body (not blood). Wayne and J.D. nervously hold the same gun on Judith as if they're going to shoot her, but they can't do it. Judith hits J.D. over the head with a lamp vase, knocking him out. Moments later, she picks up Wayne by his feet and sends him tumbling out a second story window to the ground below. She then does the same thing to J.D. Darren falls off his moped (we later see a cut on his forehead). J.D. fires several tranquilizer darts at Judith as she tries to escape. A man falls down his steps. Judith zaps J.D. in the crotch with an electric cattle prod of sorts, causing him to fall to the street from a moving van (we later see him with a bag of ice on his clothed crotch). Wayne eventually shoots her in the butt with a tranquilizer dart. Wayne attaches remote control operated electrodes to Darren's nipples so that whenever he hears him talk about Judith while in Sandy's presence, he can give him a "reminder" jolt. As such, Wayne does that on several occasions (resulting in Darren reacting to the sudden pain). During this, a large bouncer grabs Wayne by the neck and drags him out of a restaurant. He then punches Wayne in the gut, which then sends a shock to Darren (and this happens several more times until Darren's shirt catches on fire at his nipples). Sparks set alcohol on a bar top on fire, eventually causing an apparently rather large fire. A flashback shows an underground kickboxing tournament where Judith's old boyfriend receives a fatal blow from his opponent (not particularly played realistically). Judith kicks the coach, elbows him and then flips him over to the floor. She then proceeds to kick him many times and then kicks Wayne in the crotch, doubling him over. Darren punches Wayne in the face, does so again (sending him through a glass door) and then again (causing him to flip over a railing and land on Sandy's car). He then throws J.D. over that railing and onto the top of Sandy's car, smashing the roof. The coach backs a van through a wall to allow some prisoners to escape. The coach purposefully jumps from a moving van, tumbles across the street and is then hit by a car (he gets flipped up over the top). Judith grabs a chair, smashes it into Wayne and then kicks him. He then pulls up a roll of carpet, sending her falling to the ground. She then punches him and he punches her back (with both spitting out a tooth each). The two then briefly choke each other. Reviewed February 3, 2001 / Posted February 9, 2001

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