Scary Movie

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.

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.

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.

Scream had redefined a genre, bring the slasher genre back from the depths of despair, Scary Movie rode the wave of interest in the genre and ripped it to shreds, hilariously.

Who doesn't watch a Horror movie and say to yourself don't do that, or don't go there, this film highlights all the dos and dont's ridiculing all we love about them. The gags are non stop, the Scream parody opening scenes look great to be honest, the play on the Scream mask is so funny. Doofus is hilarious, and arguably has more sense then his counterpart in Scream. Anna Faris, Regina Hall and Shaun Wayans provide the most laughs, each equally hilarious.

It's not to be taken seriously, when I'm in a bad mood, this is the film I reach for, it always changes my mood, let's be honest it's hilarious, and not afraid to offend everyone.

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.