MOVIE REVIEW

Scary Movie  (2000)

Starring: Anna Faris, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans
Director: Keenan Ivory Wayans

Rating: R

Studio: Dimension Films

Review Posted: 7.8.00

Spoilers: Yes

Rating: 8/10

By Dennis Landmann

Wayans Brothers Are Scaryily Funny

What is more raunchier than South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, There's Something About Mary, American Pie and Me Myself & Irene all-together? The question is answered in Scary Movie. It pushes all the limits and as proved by the rating (which is R) it was able to pull off a lot of stuff that the other 4 films listed above were not able, that should read "allowed", to show.

As most of these kinds of movies get NC-17 ratings first and then get cut down in order to get the "preferred" R-rating, Scary Movie got sort of lucky and cool with the MPAA here as it got the "preferred" rating. Eyes Wide Shut had to be digitally altered to cover up parts of an orgy scene. American Pie originally had Jim humping the pie on a table but was altered later on. Here, an erect penis, someone's balls, and someone's heavy body fluids are seen. I guess in a comedy like this it was OK to show, but then again, it seems unfair to the other films that didn't make it as far as this movie did. Sometimes, the line is broken and Keenan Ivory Wayans pulled it off in some odd way without the MPAA noticing.

There is no real, crafted, thought-out plot here, which basically follows (and makes fun of) the tradition of the teen horror movies where dialogue was mostly driving the plot further. Considerably, a plot does exist but it mainly consists of different scenes from teen horrors put together, making fun of them in as many ways as possible. The opening sequence here is the same as it was in Scream (3) only that Carmen Electra is the first victim. When she's chased by the masked killer, supposedly played by Keenan Ivory Wayans, she has two choices: go left to 'safety' or go right to 'death'. You guess which direction she goes. That's exactly the sort of humor Scary Movie provides you with.

The plot here is as follows: After the murder of Drew Becker (Electra), reporters invade the local high school (rather oddly named B.A. Corpse High School) campus with Gale Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) leading the way. The character Randy, played by Marlon Wayans, pays homage to Randy in Scream, only in here he does nothing but to get stoned. The three girls are Buffy (Shannon Elizabeth), Cindy (Anna Faris) and Brenda (Regina Hall). The three guys are Bobby (Jon Abrahams), Greg (Lochlyn Munro), and Ray (Shawn Wayans). All of them have a secret, which is the same in I Know What You Did Last Summer - they killed a fisherman with their car, and that's exactly when the killer shows up. But there is no connection, so it's rather pointless, but it serves as a fun factor. People start getting killed and it's mainly up to Cindy to find out. In this movie, there are three killers. When you watch it you'll never guess who the real killer is. Hint: Handicapped character ala Usual Suspects.

If there is one thing that Scary Movie and Me Myself & Irene have in common it's that you can't really see them again as almost all of the jokes won't work the second time around. Or so I thought. I was wrong about Scary Movie. I saw it again and it was still very funny, understandably not as funny upon first viewing of course. Keenan Ivory Wayans is back as a director to direct his third spoof. His others are I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Don't Be A Menace To South Centrall White Drinking Your Juice In The Hood. That's a damn long title and I'm happy that he didn't use any of the working titles of this film. They were: Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell On Friday the 13th and Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween. Imagine any of those titles on the poster. Well, it didn't happen and Scary Movie was the right choice, which, oddly enough, was also Scream's working title.

In the end, Scary Movie is obviously the funniest movie of the year. As I've seen already, reactions are mixed. Some love it. Some find it OK. Some thought it sucked. That's exactly what Scary Movie is about. A movie of taste. If you've never seen any of the films it spoofs, you're likely not to understand and laugh about its jokes.

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