The Silence of the Hams (1994)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A spoof of 'Silence Of The Lambs' and 'Psycho' mainly with other film references thrown into the mix "Silence of The Hams'' is generally not that funny and any fan of the parody genre could write the feeble script in their sleep. The jokes pile up but never amount to anything decent. The cast, and it's a talented cast, do their best with the material but even at only 81 minutes it is a chore to sit through. One felt sorry for the actors. Martin Balsam reprising a similar role from 'Psycho' utters the line,"I feel like I've done this before." The whole film felt like that.

Damn. I find THIS funny? I must admit I'm really disappointed in myself, but oh well. "Silence Of The Hams" never even comes close to being well-written or well-directed, and like many spoofs it has a fair share of total groaners. I mean, we're talking about the kind of movie here that names a Hannibal Lecter spoof Dr.Animal Cannibal Pizza. I can barely comprehend how devastatingly witless that joke truly is. And then later a Norman Bates copy shows up and his name turns out to be, God help us all, Antonio Motel. And instead of Sharon Stone, there's...Sharon Bone. These makers really do not like overtime. Somehow though, the movie still has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, probably because writer/director/star Ezio Greggio got a lot of inspiration from "Naked Gun". The entire script feels like Frank Drebin could walk in any second, the dialogues are crammed with all kinds of stupid misunderstandings. I also very much liked Antonio's narration, which usually provides the biggest laughs of them all. If you turn of your brain completely, this movie is great. If you don't: courage.

As bad as this film may be at least it's not a Wayans travesty. The movie seems to have its own rhythm where you think it's the worst thing ever made and then one line, or cameo, will redeem it and you're pulled back in. The summary line of this review is an example.Yes, 'the lady in blue' line is incredibly lame and the visual gags, such as the orchestra playing the score, are clichéd but the film has a reckless charm and Dom DeLuise can't help but be great in anything he does. I'd recommend this to no one in particular. Perhaps, if like me, you were ill in bed and the remote control was out of reach and you were too weak to call for help then watch this film.

If the saying you are what you eat then this cast ate a lot of hams and a few turkeys! An excellent choice of big stars in the comic industry including John Astin,Bubba Smith,Dom Deluise and a cameo by Mr Parody Mel Brooks. If you like parodies this is truly a must see!!!