Scary Movie (2000)

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.

Fmovies: My headline is what I am sure everyone remembers from the movie. People kept repeating it for a long time, maybe a bit too long. Watched it today for the first time in almost 2 decades and was doing the same thing while laughing about this classic.

Besides this scene I couldn't remember much about the movie and it ended up being pretty good. I just watched Scream a few days ago so I could get most references. They were done really well. The parody scenes were done perfectly when compared to the original. The character of the mentally challenged police guy was pretty funny even though the guy in Scream was pretty sweet.

References to other movies that I haven't watched in a while but could still recognize. Dawson climbing into the window was also a hilarious moment.

Really good parody movie catching the essence of the horror movies of the 90's and the humor of that time.

This is Scary Movie. Like, THE Scary Movie. The movie that made fun of horror movies, aptly and plainly named "Scary Movie". The film that's had an entire generation crack up and still, today, reference its many hilarious moments as modern day lore. The time is 2000. The crack of the new millennium and an entire people fed up with the blatancy of contemporary horror, with all its predictability and sameness, what with the countless modern slashers coming out at the time and what not. Along comes this film, a Wayans brothers' production, with a style of humor that is so comically exaggerated and contagious lots of scenes remain references today. I really can't think of another explanation that the people putting this down are just prudes who can't take a fun ride every once in a while and just are incapable of seeing this for what it is, because it most certainly works fantastically at what it does.

Scary Movie fmovies. OK people. Enough is enough. I'm standing up for this movie. I had walked into the theater not knowing what to expect. After hearing about the nudity, I was definitely intrigued. Yes, this movie has a TON of gross out jokes that make Something About Mary seem like Sesame Street. The gross out jokes will no doubt make many people uncomfortable. In retrospect, this movie should have probably been NC-17, but it was really pretty harmless. (the girl-in-the-movie-theater-talking-on-the-phone bit should have been done a long time ago) The stereotyping is pretty bad, but again, harmless. I was more or less shocked at the material, rather than offended. There could have been less Scream spoofs and more "old-school" horror jokes, but I wouldn't trade the Doofy material for anything. Great impersonation! Cheri Oteri was a wonderful presence, in a great Blair Witch knockoff. The ghostface killer does a nifty little Friday the 13th music impression. And, there is a very brief Halloween spoof with Cindy in the classroom. The sex jokes were way over-the-top but pretty darn clever. After seeing Me, Myself, and Irene (which was god-awful, especially if you're used to seeing Jim Carrey doing good movies) I was thrilled to leave Scary Movie thoroughly pleased. Regardless of the tagline, everyone should expect a sequel. (the movie is grossing a ton of money) I'm already buying my popcorn...

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.

Parody films kind of died in the early 90s, the good ones anyway. Leslie Neilson made a handful at the end of the decade, all very stupid as they didn't even try like the Zucker bros. did in the early days. But the last slapstick film I liked was 1993's "Loaded Weapon" so this film was a long time coming. Most parodies have some sort of target, and this one attacks all the teen slasher pics of the last few years. Since I didn't enjoy any of them, I really enjoyed watching them get lampooned, as a ton of the jokes are right on the money. If you're a fan of parody, I don't know how you couldn't love some of this. But even with all the praise, this still just barely missed being an overall success. Toward the end it starts to run out of steam, which is really too bad, as a lot of it is too hilarious for words. I do go along with everyone else in saying I don't know how this got only an R rating. There is a ton of graphic material, sexually and bloodily. Some will laugh, others will roll their eyes at the over the top approach to some scenes. I did a little of both. The cast, for mostly unknowns, is good, and it was nice to see the Wayans clan finally succeed in film, after about a decade of poorly self-written clunkers. I see a sequel is forthcoming, although I'm not sure whats left to make fun of.