Scary Movie 3: Episode I - Lord of the Brooms Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)November 3rd, 2003
SCARY MOVIE 3 (2003) / ** 1/2
Directed by David Zucker. Screenplay by Brian Lynch, Craig Mazin, Pat Proft and Kevin Smith, based on characters created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Simon Rex. Running time: 90 minutes. Rated AA by the MFCB. Reviewed on October 31st, 2003.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Priest-turned-farmer Tom (Sheen) wakes up one morning to discover... eventually... that aliens have left crop circles in his fields. His brother George (Rex) tries -- really, really hard! -- to be a rapper. News reporter Cindy Campbell (Faris), caring for her psychic young nephew Cody (Drew Mikuska), unwisely watches a peculiar video which is supposed to bring death in seven days to all who watch it. These events are connected... maybe. Probably. That's the going theory, anyway.
Review: After the disappointing "Scary Movie 2", the franchise has been almost completely overhauled for its third outing. Sure, Anna Faris is still front and centre as perpetually chipper Cindy. But the Wayans brothers, who oversaw the first two installments, are gone and they've taken the more adult content with them. With David Zucker at the helm, "Scary Movie 3" is a more broadly-appealing comedy reminiscent of Zucker's "Naked Gun" heights (and yep, Leslie Neilsen is here too, although his dimwitted President Harris is one of his less entertaining characters). Yet while Zucker certainly makes "Scary Movie 3" a funnier movie than its predecessor, it still lacks the bite and inventiveness of his Eighties classics. A lot of the jokes -- aimed at movies as diverse as "The Ring", "Signs" and "8 Mile" -- are very obvious and rarely build effectively, instead feeling scattershot and isolated. There are also some peculiar editing decisions, like introducing a creepy priest as a babysitter for Cody and doing nothing with him. Still, there are great cameos by Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Simon Cowell and George Carlin (the latter in a scene which nicely skewers "The Matrix Reloaded") and more gags hit the mark than miss. But despite the improved quality, "Scary Movie 3" hardly demands a "Scary Movie 4" -- even though we'll probably get it anyway.
Copyright © 2003 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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