The Slammin Salmon

Plot

"Slammin" Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan) is a former world heavyweight boxing champion who retired to open a sports-themed restaurant in Miami. His antics lead him to believe that he owes $20,000 to the head of the Japanese Yakuza. Needing to come up with the money in one night, he challenges the wait staff to sell more food than they have ever sold, with the top waiter receiving $10,000 in cash and the lowest waiter getting a "broken ribs sandwich" courtesy of the champ. Zany hijinks ensue as the staff try to one-up each other and win the prize while avoiding a beating. In the end, Cleon realizes that he only owed 20,000 Yen to the Japanese Yakuza (which works out to be $170) and shares the takings with the wait staff. But before he goes to give the Japanese Yakuza the money, he beats up Guy since he was the lowest selling waiter.

Cast

Staff

Customers

Release

The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 17, 2009. It was released to limited theaters in the US on December 11, 2009. On April 13, 2010, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Reception

The film has received mostly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 36% of critics gave the film a positive review, based upon a sample of 25, with an average score of 4.9 out of 10. Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times praised Duncan's performance, but noted that many of the jokes in the movie are tired and old. Michael O'Sullivan, writing for the Washington Post, noted that the film engages in "lowbrow insults and slapsticky shenanigans" and that its humor "hovers around crotch level."