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'Slammin' ' just not funny enough

Once upon a time, specifically January 2001, Broken Lizard was poised to become the next big comedy supergroup à la Monty Python or the Kids in the Hall. But from the beginning, the numbers never really lived up to the hype. Now comes Broken Lizard's fourth big-screen effort, "The Slammin' Salmon."

Once upon a time, specifically January 2001, Broken Lizard was poised to become the next big comedy supergroup à la Monty Python or the Kids in the Hall. But from the beginning, the numbers never really lived up to the hype. Now comes Broken Lizard's fourth big-screen effort, "The Slammin' Salmon."

Once again, it's unlikely to elevate them beyond cult status despite a timely premise - a night in the life of a Zagat-approved upscale restaurant - and a game ensemble cast that includes such comic ringers as Will Forte ("Saturday Night Live") and Carla Gallo ("Undeclared") in small roles.

Still, the movie offers enough solid laughs to ensure a decent audience on DVD and cable. That audience could have been even larger, however, were the proceedings just a little smarter and a whole lot funnier.

Taking place almost entirely within the titular seafood eatery owned and operated by ex-heavyweight champ "Slammin' " Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan, doing his best Tracy Morgan impression), "Salmon" at times feels more like a theatrical farce than a feature film.

The overarching narrative encompasses a restaurant's wacky wait staff, including a spineless house manager (Kevin Heffernan, also making his directorial debut), an aspiring actor (Steve Lemme) forced back into the table-service game after being fired from his big break and two requisite hot chicks (April Bowlby and "How I Met Your Mother" star Cobie Smulders). These workers scramble to bank $20,000 in one night to pay off a debt their boss owes to the Yakuza. That framework allows for lots of potentially hilarious interactions between the waiters and their eccentric clientele.

All of this probably sounds far more amusing on paper than it plays out on-screen. And that's always been the fundamental problem with Broken Lizard as comedians: They settle for material that's just good enough rather than pushing themselves to create something genuinely inspired.

Produced by Peter Lengyel, Richard Perello, directed by Kevin Heffernan, written by Jay Chandrasekhar.