To put it bluntly, the holidays bum me out. I don't think it really has anything to do with the occasion -- y'know, all that stuff about how we instinctively reject the incessant pressure towards merriment and good will (aka Holly Jolly Complex) -- I think it's more physical. The extended darkness and the plummeting temperatures and the tons of hours spent in arid, indoor environments -- my body just can't cope. About this time of year, I seriously begin to wonder if hibernation isn't a viable option.
So cheers to Broken Lizard that they decide to release The Slammin' Salmon just when we winter-ravaged souls need it the most. The film's about the wait staff of an upscale seafood restaurant who are forced by their debt-riddled owner into a competition to run up their customers' bills, but that's just the mechanism by which the Lizards -- Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske -- deliver the funny. And it turns out there's lots of funny to be had in examining one hectic night in the life of a dining establishment, not the least being Michael Clarke Duncan's portrayal of the owner -- a former boxing champion whose time in the ring has not done any favors to either his logic processes or his temper. Really, you don't want to cross a man who thinks nothing of punching out a rampant swordfish.
Kevin Heffernan is making his directorial debut with this film. We got to talk about how the troupe called upon personal experience to bring The Slammin' Salmon's restaurant world to life, and what it's like importing such actors as Michael Clarke Duncan and Brian Cox into the Broken Lizard universe. Click on the player below to hear the interview.
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