Scary Movie Review
by Lars Lindahl (larsattacks1 AT yahoo DOT com)July 1st, 2000
Review by Lars Lindahl (larsattacks@mail.com)
"Scary Movie" (2000) Grade: D
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans
Written by Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, Buddy Johnson, Aaron Seltzer, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans
Starring Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans.
I distinctly remember attending a sold out show of There's Something About Mary a couple of years ago somewhere in the heart of Albany, New York. During the infamous "Franks and Beans" scene, the enjoyment level in the crowd quickly lifted from chuckle to laughter. Then the Farrelly Brothers flashed the image of Ben Stiller's helpless penis trapped within the sharp teeth of his pant zipper - and the laughter immediately increased to teary-eyed laughter. Who knew they were bold enough to flash that shot? Who expected them to do it? Now a couple years later at the screening for Scary Movie, in a clear rip off of Mary's most prized possession, penises and phallic objects or the mentioning of one, appear in every single scene. Don't get me wrong - I loved to be grossed out like everyone else, but this tactic becomes so repetitive after the first couple of references, the movie simply becomes unwatchable. You won't laugh, you'll cringe. Not only are the jokes unfunny, they are too painfully disgusting to watch. Director Keenen Ivory Wayans doesn't know when enough is enough. He doesn't know gross from hilarious gross. He doesn't know when to proceed with the plot rather than add another semen gag. And his ignorance clearly shows in Scary Movie.
Think of this movie as a cross between Airplane and Mary, or make that Wrongfully Accused and Love Stinks. It parodies famous scenes from other horror movies ranging from The Exorcist to The Blair Witch Project but its plot is mostly borrowed from the original Scream. A young girl and her friends are stalked by a mysterious killer in a ghost face mask who appears to know that they killed a man last Halloween. Everything in the movie is blazingly sarcastic; one doomed big-breasted girl running away from the killer sees a sign that points one way to safety and the other way to death.
Scary Movie could have been another Naked Gun if it had stuck to the genre it was attempting to humiliate. Too many gross-out situations seem to negate the whole purpose of the movie. Also the premise of Scary Movie is almost identical to that of Scream, ruining any attempt at suspense or unpredictability. It is quite ironic that Scary Movie mocks Scream, which mocks other scary movies. Maybe Wayans and his writing team didn't get that. Maybe Scream was too subtle for them.
The only times, if any, you will find yourselves giggling at this movie, is because of its high levels of shock value. You never know how despicable it is going to be or how low it can go. Sometimes the only way to respond to some of these revolting sights is to snicker: And yes, you will hate yourself for laughing later on.
The only bright spots come from a few of the acting performances. Cheri Oteri is great as the "Courtney Cox aggressive news reporter" character who appears to be an angel only when she is in front of the camera. But unfortunately, you rarely see her. Marlon Wayans is also great as the pot-smoking "Jamie Kennedy comedy relief" character. He isn't laugh out loud funny but compared to everything else, you'll be begging to see more of him.
After directing the classic comedy I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and producing the mediocre Don't Be a Menace to Society While Drinking Juice in the Hood, Keenen Ivory Wayans has reached a low with Scary Movie. A lame comedy that will definitely make you groan and groan again.
Grade: D
Lars Attacks!
A teenager attacks past and present cinema
http://www.geocities.com/larsattacks00/
larsattacks@mail.com
(c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!?
Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
