Scary Movie 2 Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)August 29th, 2001
SCARY MOVIE 2 (2001) / **
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. Screenplay by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Alyson Fouse, Greg Grabianski, Dave Polsky, Michael Anthony Snowden, and Craig Wayans, based on characters created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans. Running time: 100 minutes. Rated AA for sexual content and coarse language by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 22nd, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: An unscrupulous college professor (Tim Curry) cons several of his students -- many of them survivors (and otherwise) of the first "Scary Movie" -- into spending the night at "Hell House". Cindy (Faris) and friends have to contend with an angry ghost, a demonic cat, a disturbing caretaker, and cheezy parodies of everything from "Poltergeist" to "The Weakest Link"...
Review: "Scary Movie" may have been the climax of the gross-out comedy -- the last hilarious, disgusting hurrah of a genre which seems to have worn out its welcome on the big screen. "Scary Movie 2" is like an echo of its predecessor: not as funny nor as vomit-inducing, but still possessed of some of the qualities that made the original so entertaining. The main problem seems to be that it lacks confidence in the very subject material it's lampooning. Whereas the first installment wormed considerable mileage out of parodying slasher flicks like "Scream", the sequel goes after the older genre of the haunted house movie. And even though its main targets include such recent fare as the 1999 remake of "The Haunting", it seems the small army of scriptwriters were not convinced that their target audience of teen boys would be familiar with most examples of the genre. As a result, numerous unrelated jokes are haphazardly strewn throughout the proceedings, making "Scary Movie 2" feel disconnected and cobbled together, a loose panoply of brief set pieces that are knocked down as quickly as they're set up. There are still some funny bits (especially the opening "Exorcist" rip), but the picture consequently builds little momentum. The filmmakers should realise now that the well is dry, and keep to the promise made in the tagline for the first "Scary Movie": no sequel.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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