"Scary Movie" was the original title for Wes Craven's ultra-popular "Scream." That is probably the best thing I can say in favor of this slapdash, lackadaisical spoof of the "Scream" movies and the slasher film genre in general. As with most spoofs, there are far too many desperate gags to inspire much laughter in the audience.
Anna Frais deftly plays the Neve Campbell role (she even mimics shrinking her eyes as Campbell did in the original "Scream"), the virginal dimwit whose father is a drug runner with the Colombians. Enter the pot-smoking teen (Marlon Wayans), the jock superstud who has homosexual tendencies (one of the other Wayan brothers, I forget which), the mentally challenged (or "retarted retard" as he is referred to) police deputy (Dave Sheridan aping David Arquette), the opening "death" cameo by Carmen Electra as Drew, and so on. Oh, and the killer wears the same Edvard Munch mask with a glinting knife and hook!
Most of the cast act like gaping idiots seeking attention, and none exude the charm or straight-as-an-arrow acting style (central to spoofs as a rule) of Leslie Nielsen in "The Naked Gun" or for that matter, Val Kilmer in the superbly hilarious "Top Secret." The trick is to play it straight, not to act like a total buffoon otherwise, you are letting people know you are in on the joke as well.
The central problem with "Scary Movie" is that the script does not skewer the slasher genre as much as pop culture hits like "The Matrix" (which actually works), "The Blair Witch Project," "Amistad," and "The Usual Suspects." When it does spoof the slasher films, as in the obvious "Scream," it fails miserably mainly because the "Scream" movies were already poking fun at themselves. They were postmodernist jokes on the rules and do's and don'ts of the slasher film genre - how can you spoof what was essentially a spoof? This shows a real dearth in imagination, which as far as I am concerned, the Wayans (Shawn and Marlon co-wrote the screenplay) do not possess a lick of.
"In Living Color" at least showed some talent from the Wayans brothers, as did the underappreciated "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." Here genuine laughs come in extremely short supply (though Electra's cameo is quite good), and there are far too many gross-out gags, homosexual locker-room humor and exaggerated bodily fluid jokes that went out of style shortly after "Porky's" and its slew of rip-offs a decade ago.
In its 90 minute running time, I chuckled four times and only let out one big laugh for "Scary Movie." It is a roller coaster ride of missed opportunities - where are the Zucker brothers when you need them? By comparison, "Scream 3" was a lot funnier.
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