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Scary Movie (2000)
31 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
amusing parody, 9 December 2000
Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States
Like most movie parodies, `Scary Movie' starts out well then begins to head downhill as it exhausts the possibilities of its limited material. Certainly, few genres are as rife for self-satire as the teen slasher films that have proliferated in theatres ever since the early 1980's. Seeing, however, as even some of the earliest `Friday the 13th' and `Halloween' films seem like ancient history to today's core movie going public, `Scary Movie' draws upon more contemporary examples of the genre like `Scream' and `I Know What You Did Last Summer' as its source of inspiration. In its opening stretches, `Scary Movie' has a great deal of fun parodying the many ludicrous conventions that have long defined these films: the use of 30-year old actors to portray empty-headed, nubile adolescents; the heavy emphasis on teen sexuality and partial nudity; the inane actions of the killer's victims who seem to do everything possible to hurl themselves into dangerous situations; and the oh-so-predictable false scare (usually caused by a leaping cat) followed immediately by the inevitable killer's attack.
Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans and boasting a screenplay concocted by no fewer than six (count ‘em SIX) writers, `Scary Movie' establishes a high speed rhythm and pace that the filmmakers manage to sustain through most of the film's 88-minute running time – though there is a noticeable tendency on the part of the film to lag in the last half hour. Part of the problem could be that, as with most films made up essentially of sound and sight gags haphazardly strung together, it is inevitable that some of the bits will succeed better than others and that, as the movie rolls along, the inspiration will run a little dry and the humor will become less spontaneous and more forced. Indeed, this type of movie genre parody has always worked best when applied in small doses on TV series like `Saturday Night Live,' `In Living Color' and even the `Carol Burnett Show.' Stretched out to full length, such concepts often suffer the curse of diminishing returns.
Occasionally, the screenplay edges so close to the limits of good taste that one may question whether or not the material is truly appropriate for the age group at which the movie is obviously targeted. The crudity is actually much more comically effective when it is merely hinted at than when it is so openly spelled out and displayed. But then subtlety is not exactly a strong suit of the straight horror movie genre either.
`Scary Movie' is, at least, blessed with a winning, game cast made up of appropriately post adolescent actors who understand well the mannerisms and speech patterns of the stereotypes they embody. The overall good-natured quality of the film and its fairly high laugh ratio of gems to clunkers make `Scary Movie' an imperfect but generally likeable popcorn entertainment.
34 out of 47 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the funniest spoofs ever, 7 July 2000
Author: Filmjack3 from United States
Scary Movie is now (it was a little while ago it was Me, Myself & Irene) my favorite comedy of the year. This film gives another word to the spoof/comedy genre, and even though it doesn't make a breakthrough like Airplane!, it is still very, very funny. Sure it's not for everyone, but for those who have seen all the scary movies parodied in this film (example- Scream, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, Halloween, The Shining, etc) and can enjoy a good comedy, this film is definitely for you.
But the plot is unexplainable, but the jokes are. The spoof follows in the Wayans bros. tradition (this film is directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans, written by Shawn and Marlon Wayans, produced by all three, and starring all three) of they're last spoof- Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Jokes include a guy who acts very gay but isn't (Shawn Wayans) a pot head (Marlon Wayans) and some other characters (Carmen Electra's cameo is my favorite). Also, the references to movies but not parodies are still funny. Very sick, very crude, very funny. The funniest film of the year. A+
21 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Lighten up and enjoy!, 7 July 2000
Author: Matthew Ignoffo (mermatt@webtv.net) from Eatontown, NJ, USA
I'm not sure what the people who dumped on this film were expecting, but I found it entertaining. I am a fan of good horror and good satire, so I was able to recognize and appreciate the jokes.
True, this film relies a bit much on poddy humor, but at the same time, there is a cleverness in the way all the films being spoofed (and there are many) get twisted together and played with here. Some of the slapstick and sight gags do fall flat, but the movie is quick paced and the satire is fun. If you don't go in expecting Shakespeare, you'll enjoy it. And you might even get some Shakespeare.
12 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Scared silly, 28 April 2004
Author: george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) from fairview, nj
SCARY MOVIE (**1/2) Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kelly Coffield, David L. Lander.
`Airplane!' meets `Scream' could've been the pitch made by director Keenan Ivory Wayans and his talented sibling screenwriters Marlon & Shawn to their studio, Dimension, in this riotously funny, hit and miss, parody of the horror genre.
Taking merciless jibes at the slasher films including `I Know What You Did Last Summer' among others, the satire focuses on B.A. Corpse High School and the costumed serial killer who begins a string of nasty killings starting with bodacious Electra (aping Drew Barrymore's signature opening to the first `Scream') whose silicone implants can't save her attacker nor from getting run over by her parents (oblivious to their daughter's plight by engaging in oral sex, the first of many sexual jokes throughout). Of course the media jumps on to glamourize the murders with the help of newshound Gail Hailstrom (`SNL's Oteri, spoofing Courteney Cox's rabid media blitzer) aimlessly trying to get a scoop. And then there are the generic teens-victims-to-be including Faris as the Neve Campbell/Jennifer Love Hewitt character, Cindy.
Though not as hilarious as the granddaddy of all spoofs `Airplane!', `Scary Movie' (incidentally this was the original title of the first `Scream'), does attempt to get as many laughs for its buck in taking shots at the mentally ill, smoking dope, homosexuals, genitalia, and for me the biggest laugh was the predominately white film audience silencing an obnoxiously loud black character through all types of violence. Gross jokes, sex jokes, and any thing that will stick to the wall jokes get their dues paid here and then some.
The Wayans brothers - Shawn as Ray, a football player with sexuality issues and Marlon as Shorty, the fun-loving pot head who hooks up the killer with some hilarious moments of getting baked - co-scripted this lampoon (and get onscreen credit with co-writers Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg & Aaaron Seltzer) and provide most of the laughs often at their own expense and with a helping hand from elder brother Keenan (who has a cameo in a trailer for `Amistad 2'), clearly know how to make one laugh and even if their tv series for 5 seasons was axed (as it is fondly recalled in the film's climax), be certain that an inevitable sequel will unearth itself in all its grotesque giddiness ensuing.
16 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
John Waters did it better 25 years ago., 21 February 2005
Author: FleshAndTheFiends from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Crude, rude and annoying parody of 'Scream' (parts 1 and 2) and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer', follows their plots pretty closely, but also throws in gags poking fun at The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project Project, The Matrix and Amistad (?), plus some American PIE. Anna Faris, the only thing to shine in this cesspool, has the Neve Campbell virginal heroine role. She's perfect as the aloof Cindy Camp-bell, whose friends are stalked by a mysterious ghost-faced killer(s) who likes to smoke pot and look at porn mags. Supporting characters include Deputy Doofy, a retarded deputy sheriff who has sex with his vacuum cleaner and SNL star Cheri Oteri as reporter Gail Hailstorm, who "swallows." Shannon Elizabeth becomes Miss Teen Fellatio and Shawn Wayans gets a penis stuck through his head.
For some reason, it took six writers (including 3 Wayans brothers) to come up with juvenile bad-taste gags involving farts, semen, snot, drool, silicone implants, penis size, pubic hair, vomit, panty-sniffing dyke gym coaches with testicles and other yummy stuff. Gays, retards, suicide cases and fat chicks are other points of comedy. John Waters was targeting the same taboo subjects for parody in the 1970s, but he managed to make it all funny. The novelty shock value is now gone and the gags are just tiresome and disgusting. There's a whole lot going on in 'Scary Movie,' but the obnoxious cast overacts and very little of this is actually funny. A surprise box-office hit, it was followed by two equally pitiful sequels and some direct-to-video copies.
16 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Very funny and clever, better than most other take off movies., 18 November 2000
Author: Richard Brunton (imdb-update@brunton.org.uk) from Edinburgh, Scotland
Very funny comedy from the Wayan team. It's a take on all the recent teen horror flicks, and it does it superbly well. I hate noise in cinemas while I'm watching a film, but I couldn't keep quiet, I was laughing out loud, and I even shouted at the screen. Now I have never done that before. The gags, from one liners to the set pieces, are so funny, watch out for the sex scene and the gym teacher - I almost wet myself. This ranks next to Airplane as one of the top ten funnies.
13 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
Puerile Amercian Humour, 12 September 2000
Author: Alex Brown (alex_brown@blueyonder.co.uk) from Woking, England
Not really knowing what to expect when I went to saw this, other than a parody of the recent crop of teen horror films started by Wes Craven's excellent Scream, this was utterly puerile and silly Amercian parody humour.
It was well done though, unlike the Leslie Nielsen bores that we have seen in recent years. Going by the cast list and the credits - it was definitely kept in the family though!
3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Satire of a spoof, or spoof of a satire??, 11 August 2002
Author: TxMike from Houston, Tx, USA, Earth
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
I would never have paid to see "Scary Movie." I checked it out of my local library, just to see how bad it is. Critic Ebert gives a pretty accurate review of the film, however I don't rate it as highly as he does. I can understand why some think it is a great film, and I can also understand why some rate it "1". That kind of range is legitimate for a zany film like this.
SPOILER - The best part of the film was the character "Doofy" who was patterned after Verbal in "The Usual Suspects." Throughout this film he was the "retard", half-cripple, and at the very end we watch his feet as he begins to walk normally, shed his "Doofy" clothes, and jump in a car with the beautiful girl. He was the slasher!
"Dumb and Dumber", "Happy Gilmore", work for me because they make great fun of themselves. In all I didn't like "Scary Movie" because it makes fun of others, of ethnic groups, of gays, of religions, of other films. While a few jokes work, most of them do not. I understand why this movie was made, to satisfy the urge to lampoon things the writers found silly in other films. But it is too dirty to work.
5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Not for the easily offended!, 2 April 2006
Author: insomniac_rod from Noctropolis
A controversial Horror spoof that gained mainstream attention when released. If you liked and took seriously "Scream" then you should watch this movie with attention. It's almost the same concept. While "Scream" tried to be taken seriously , "Scary Movie" mocks about everything possible in the genre in a raw way.
Anna Faris and the Wayans brothers deliver a funny performance. Sure the cast is over the top but the movie asks for it. Having such a pretty girl like Faris behaving like that always shocks and this time, it entertains. The rest of the cast is pretty good. All in the "American Pie" style but with raunchy humor.
The main reason for me to like this movie is that it mocks perfectly many Horror popular movies. Friday the 13th, He Knows You Are Alone, Black Christmas, Psycho, etc. That's in my opinion, the best feature of the movie. It's a joke but it's a homage at the same time. Unlike "Scream" that tried to convince people that it was an innovative slasher.
Give this movie a try if you are in the mood of raw black humor. It surely will entertain you if you are not easily offended.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
A really bad flick, 9 September 2000
Author: starwind-2 from Springdale, Arkansas
No plot here. An hour and 30 minutes of stupid jokes and disgusting sight gags. The humor in this movie will likely not appeal to anyone out of high school, which is too bad because with a well deserved R rating no one under 17 will see it. If you haven't seen this yet, save your money...or better yet go rent one of the real Scream movies.
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