SAVING SILVERMAN

Tom Meek

This punchy chuckler is one slice American Pie and the rest Revenge of the Nerds. Back in the fifth grade, goofballs Wayne (Steve Zahn), J.D. (the uproarious Jack Black from High Fidelity), and Darren (Jason Biggs in the title role) bonded together on Neil Diamond music. Now, in the real world, they work hack jobs (elderly care and varmint removal), play in a Neil tribute band called Diamonds in the Rough, and never get laid. Even Darren, when he hooks the icy-desirable Judith (the carnivorous, cleavage-enhanced Amanda Peet), doesn't get any action; he gets to give (orally), but -- à la Biggs's American Pie character -- all he gets in return is a bottle of Lubriderm and a porno mag. Judith can't stand the nimrod duo and forbids Darren to see them again -- lest he lose his masturbation privileges. The sophomoric schlock takes off when Wayne and J.D. abduct Judith, stage her death, and try to hitch Darren up with his high-school sweetheart (Amanda Detmer), who has returned to town to enter a nunnery.

Hardened on Adam Sandler films, director Dennis Dugan batters the audience with rapid-fire gags, scoring on three of every five. The likable cast of up-and-comers carry the film with swagger, but it's R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) as the homicidal football coach who best knows the drill.