Independent Films, Film Profiles

Saving Silverman
by Dennis Dugan

Saving Silverman is a 2001 comedy film, directed by Dennis Dugan. It stars Steve Zahn, Jack Black, Jason Biggs (as the eponymous "Darren Silverman"), Amanda Peet, Amanda Detmer and R Lee Ermey. Neil Diamond has a cameo role playing himself.Outside North America, the film was titled Evil Woman.Darren Silverman (Biggs), Wayne Lefessier (Zahn) and J.D. McNugent (Black), best friends since fifth grade and Neil Diamond fans throughout, form a cover band called Diamonds in the Rough. After a performance, relaxing at a bar, Darren is introduced to the beautiful but domineering psychologist Judith Fessbeggler (Peet). Six weeks into their relationship Judith is still making Darren watch her change clothes, and though sleeping together produces satisfaction for her, Darren gets nothing but a sore jaw.After a disastrous visit to Darren's friends, Judith forbids him to see them anymore (threatening to take away his sexual privileges). Shocked by her further demands that Darren quit the band, get gluteal implants, burn his Neil Diamond albums, wax her legs, and attend relationship counseling under her care, Wayne and J.D. decide to save Silverman from her by attempting to bribe her, arm wrestle her, and shock her with fake photos of Darren cheating, all to no avail.Wayne and J.D. redouble their efforts by trying to reunite Darren with his "one and only", Sandy Perkus (Detmer), when she comes to town to take her final vows as a nun. When Darren and Judith announce their engagement, they kidnap Judith then fake her death by planting a dug-up corpse in her car, which they propel over a cliff to a fiery doom. Wayne and J.D. then visit Coach Norton (Ermey) in jail for advice; he states flatly that they should kill Judith.Sandy's feelings for Darren are rekindled. They then go on a date to a club where Wayne placed microphone in Darren's shirt so he can help Darren win sandy, but Wayne at the same time is trying to suck his own dick, but Darren can't get the manipulative Judith out of his mind. Sandy, disheartened, returns to the convent, but Darren runs 30 miles there to win her back.In a counseling session in the basement, chained to an engine block, Judith convinces J.D. he is gay. She then knocks him unconscious with a lamp, steals his keys, and escapes from captivity with the truck, only to be taken down with a tranquilizer dart outside the police station by Wayne. In the basement again, Wayne chains her up, but while he is feeding her a juicy Big Montana sandwich from Arby's some of the Arby's sauce from the sandwich drips between her breasts, she seduces him into releasing one of her hands and begins to pleasure him, but this is only a distraction and so she escapes. Judith runs to Darren's house in time to see Sandy and Darren kiss, and shames him into admitting that he promised to marry Judith. Sandy, disheartened, returns to the convent. After discovering Wayne and J.D.'s scheme, he punches both of them multiple times and has them arrested.After escaping from jail with the help of Coach Norton, J.D. and Wayne arrive at the convent on the brink of Sandy's final vows as a nun, but convince her that Darren still loves her. They then kidnap Neil Diamond, convincing him to help Darren and Sandy reunite. On the way there, Coach confuses an old lady driving for a cop, and jumps out with a gun, but not before being run over by the elderly woman. At the wedding, Neil stalls the proceedings with a song, while Wayne and Judith beat each other up (as love play), Darren and Sandy reunite, and J.D. arrives holding Coach in his arms, and come out as gay to each other.On stage at the Neil Diamond concert that night, the priest weds Darren to Sandy, Wayne to Judith, and J.D. to Coach; the entire cast sings Holly Holy.