Is Date Movie a spoof? I got punched so hard in the face by their jokes I couldn't tell.
Seriously, that's one the laziest parodies I've ever seen or read.
Romantic comedies shouldn't have been spoofed in the first place. They're meant to be shallow and full of empty laughs. Making fun of the Meet the Parent's cat is just stupid. It's making fun of a joke. Why not just go out and laugh at a clown for having a red rubber nose?
I finally got to see "Date Movie" tonight on DVD and I was so incredibly surprised that I'm sure as hell buying it next Tuesday. I'm well aware that it is rated 2.7/10 on IMDB. It doesn't sway my decision in the least.
The fact of the matter is this. "Date Movie" incorporated some of the funniest, most effective sight gags I have ever seen in a satire, some of which recalling the good old days of the "Naked Gun" franchise. That's a hard, hard thing to do, given the derivative nature of satire. Coming up with fresh and effective gags is unheard of, given even Zucker resorted to re-using many of them in his 2 installments in the "Scary Movie" franchise alone.
Granted, there were some scenes that could have been excised that didn't really help keep the theme intact, i.e. the non-date movie related material like the "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Lord of the Ring" spoofs, as well as some of Nicky's scenes, but overall, it's one of the better spoofs I've seen in recent memory, and much better than "Scary Movie 4" in my opinion.
Lastly, the biggest gripe I've gathered is that it really had no plot. Do any spoof movies?! Actually, it was very easy to follow. Alyson Hannigan's character was just living the cliches of date movies in her everyday life. What's so hard to grasp? Besides, who's looking for PLOT in movies that are out to make light of something, that being their sole purpose?
I'm a huge spoof fan, and I know bad ones when I see them, but I think that "Date Movie" has caught A LOT of unfair flack from people who have a prejudice towards the genre, expect the same amateur "Scary Movie" humor, or just based their opinions off of the trailer, which is incredibly misleading, as 1/4 of it didn't even make it to the movie. This is DEFINATELY worth a rent, IMO, and in my case, a purchase I'll gladly be making.
The problem today is that people try to get more from a spoof movie than what spoof movies have to offer. They're not supposed to be full of witty jokes and a plotline that makes you think. They're supposed to be silly and fun.
And IMDb ratings don't mean much. So it's in the Bottom 100. That means it got a lot of attention. Cheerleader Massacre is probably the worst movie I've ever seen. But there aren't as many votes for that because no one's seen it.
I had a great time watching Date Movie as well. It's not one of the better spoof movies but I quite enjoyed it. I found it unique from the others as it tried to cram in as many movies as it could in there. Other spoofs work with pace, a half-assed storyline which references other movies. This was just one movie after another.
I found the Napoleon Dynamite part funny, though it's not a "date movie".
I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked it, though I think Scary Movie 4 was better.
I just rewatched the trailer. The trailer is terrible, not one remotely clever joke in the trailer. "J-blo". Come on. It's like it's becomming a running joke to try and make the shittiest and most simplistic jokes possible in these spoof movies.
I got the next genre that needs to be spoofed. Spoof movies. Here's the first draft for the "Spoof movie" script.
INT. BEDROOM: NIGHT - Someone is in bed and a lamp falls on them. CUT TO:
EXT: STREET: MORNING - (Insert random trendy movie character) is walking down the street and they trip over something. King Kong then walks by and trips over him, crushing Ann Darrow. He stands up and gets angry realizing what he's done, he then gets hit by a car.
EXT: POOL: AFTERNOON - Some kids are running around the pool, one slips and hits his head. Of course, in classic spoof fashion when he lands on the ground there is a farting sound. Elias from brokeback mountain comes and begins giving him CPR.
EXT: PARK: EVENING - A fat person begins dancing and a cat is smoking a cigarrete on a bench. The end.
Man, this shit writes itself.
I'll probably end up watching the movie in the hopes that it isn't as shitacular as the trailer is.
Originally posted by BackFire
...and a shitty Napolean Dynomite impersonator falling down?
Not even in the movie.
Originally posted by BackFire
The trailer is terrible, not one remotely clever joke in the trailer. "J-blo". Come on.
It's "Jell-o", and the actress has a Latino drawl, so it's hardly noticeable even when she says it the one time in passing.
The trailer is pretty misrepresentative. Granted, the whole "Shallow Hal" angle is in there, but otherwise, it's a whole different movie. As far as "Scary Movie 4" being better, I liked it, but too much of what was presented had been done before. On top of that, it was very hit or miss, so when it was funny, it was hilarious, when it wasn't it bombed. "Relax. I'm just grabbing some nuts?" C'mon. The great thing about "Date Movie" is that the VISUAL innuendos surpass that of pretty much every spoof of the past 10 years, IMO. Again, stuff like using Japanese brand names to communicate, with subtitles using perfect English diction is just soooooo stale! I love Zucker/Abrahams/Proft to death, but they have GOT to get a handle on what's funny TODAY if they want "Superhero!" to work.
So, before I go watch "Date Movie" again, I have to say that I feel it's terribly underappreciated.
Uh-No! No matter how much anyone tries to decorate this movie like some wedding cake is NOT a good spoof nor a good movie. How does this film fail? In some many ways that I don't know where to begin.
Explain to me how does spoofing movies like Episode III, Kill Bill, LOTR, and King Kong work on a film which is INTENDED to spoof romantic films? There is NO explanation at all. Even worse when Date Movie tries to spoof those films it fails to connect on all the jokes and ends up looking like a terrible comedian doing his act in front of an audience. The excuse "it's just a spoof movie...everything goes" is the easiest and most weak attempt to defend this movie.
Here is an example of how terrible the time and the connection of the jokes were. In one scene Alyson tries to be beautiful by "pimping my girlfriend" Next we get a shot of Frankestein Darth Vader and the midget turns into Yoda....
...
(...)
Ha-ha?
Only TWICE did I laugh during this movie. On the average spoof film I get nearly 20 laughs. Yes, I keep track becuase when something is real funny it sticks to me.