Scary Movie 3
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Directed by: David Zucker
Starring:
Anna Faris - Cindy Campbell
Charlie Sheen - Tom
Denise Richards - Annie
Anthony Anderson - Mahalik
Simon Rex - George
Queen Latifah - Aunt Shaneequa
Eddie Griffin - Orpheus
Leslie Nielsen - President Harris
The spoof is a wonderful sub-genre of comedy and we simply do not get enough of it in theatres today. We have dumb romantic comedies and cheesy action flicks galore, but when I want to see an extra-terrestrial piss out of their index finger, who's working for me? So when a bonafide spoof like Scary Movie 3 hits theatres, you can bet that I'll be there on opening day, ready to laugh.
The third film in the Scary Movie series decides to take on The Ring (okay), Signs (more of a dramatic suspense film, but okay), and 8 Mile (WHAT?) as our favorite dim-witted heroine Cindy (the lovely Anna Faris) plays a reporter trying to find a connection between crop circles in Father Tom's (Charlie Sheen) cornfields and a videotape that kills people seven days after they watch it. Along the way, she meets an equally dim-witted wannabe rapper (Simon Rex) who decides to help her out. Running over creepy children, defiling corpses, and making fun of The Matrix Reloaded ensues.
For those unfamiliar with the series, the series started off as a much needed parody of films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer done by the Wayans Brothers. The first film managed to strike a nice balance between spoof and gross-out humor. However, the success of the first film led to a very rushed sequel which lacked the laughs of the original. Exit the Wayans and enter David Zucker.
For those who don't know him, David Zucker is the King of Spoof. Zucker is the man behind Top Secret, BASEketball, The Naked Gun, and the greatest spoof ever made, Airplane! A David Zucker film tends to deliver not only on spoofing, but on just throwing in ridiculous concepts, sight gags, and the hilariously offensive.
Scary Movie 3 has all these concepts and yet the film lacks a lasting power. The film delivers some huge laughs but nothing memorable. There are some great lines but nothing quotable. It's a movie that will have you laughing your ass off in the theatre but completely blank once you leave it. And there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. However, I wish the film was up to the level of BASEketball and Airplane! so that I could see it again and again and share with my friends the hilarious moments. But the film feels a little soft. Yes, I know that corpse-destruction rarely falls under "soft" but the film feels like its pulling punches and as such nothing really sticks with the viewer. There's nothing incredibly clever or something beyond disgusting or a deed which is downright offensive. And while softer jokes may get more laughs and more people in the theatre with a PG-13 rating, it won't stick. It will just be a sitcom.
And there's nothing incredibly wrong with humor which isn't hardcore. If it's been a stressful day and you need to chill, head down to the theatre and have some really good laughs for about 90 minutes and then go on with your day.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
11.6.03