That diamond is long gone! I'm back and hopefully writing a bit more now. Atlanta is getting into su...
That diamond is long gone! I'm back and hopefully writing a bit more now. Atlanta is getting into summer so methinks it'll be warm here for the next 5 months or so. After the cold winter I'm ready for it!
Member since:05.09.2003
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It is intriguing to note that the catchline for the original Scary Movie was No Mercy. No Shame. No Sequel. It is an interesting metaphysical notion that this movie was not in fact the sequel, since it was stated so obviously that this would not be the case - but if it is not a sequel, then what is it? A prequel? It can't be that, because it takes place after the events of the first. And it can't really be a continuation of the first plot, because that was already resolved. I'm wondering what kind of stuff those Wayans brothers mix in their tobacco. And are those headache pills really Panadol??
Anyways, all that aside, it is unfortunate that my mate has such a profligate need to go and see blockbuster movies when are they released finally. He ignores one fundamental rule, and that is that blockbuster movies, generally, are not artful, not thought-provoking, not usually funny, and in fact exist for one reason and one reason only, and that is to fleece the dopily unsuspecting public of lots and lots of money. Actually, that is about three fundamental rules, but the point remains!
This movie was directed by the oddly named Keenan Ivory Wayans. I don't know about you, but I really don't care what his middle name is. His brothers, Shawn and Marlon, play ridiculous characters, named Ray and Shorty respectively. They were alright in the first instalment, some of the gags involving
them came off, but this time around, I would have rather passed them on. Some of the other characters are rehashed, including Cindy Campbell (played by Anna Farris), who again exudes that vacuously innocent air which makes you itch to throttle her vigorously.
In an even more annoying turn of events, Ray's incredibly annoying quasi-girlfriend (who's name escapes me, alas), she of the high-pitched, nasally whining voice. Argh! She was played by Regina Hall. Also involved is some moron who is almost incidental as Cindy's 'buddy', Buddy (Chris Masterson, or someone), and some eye candy in the form of Jaime (Kathleen Robertson), who is absolutely incredible looking, but alas possessed no more or less talent than the rest.
Introductions done, let us examine the plot. Well actually, I am not too sure if it could actually pass as a 'plot' as such, more like a background story which is essential for a lot of the gags and parodies that take place. But more on that after this break.
The plot is simple - A nutty professor played by the insouciant Tim Curry and his crippled sidekick, Dwight (David Cross), invite members of a college psychology class to a house which would seem to be possessed by the ghosts of the old master and mistress of the house. In residence is Hanson (Chris Elliot), who is caretaker of the house and possesses a mangled hand, which is put to good use in many so-called jokes. The idea is that over the weekend, the students would be exposed to the paranormal stuff and the professor would be able to monitor what was going on. In reality, he wanted to get down the girls' pants, and look for ghosties as a side issue.
The beginning sees a short and totally unrelated spoof of The Exorcist, involving James Woods and Alan Richter as priests, Natasha Lyonne as a possessed child, and more urine, vomit or any other bodily fluid than you can poke a test tube at. There are some funny moments but overall it is a cringe inducing opener. It sets the scene very nicely.
I don't even really want to think about the rest of the film. It was so mind numbingly inane that I almost literally fell asleep, and the only thing that kept me awake was eyeing off Robertson's body and thinking up ways to slowly kill the Wayans brothers in agonising manners. Oh yeah, and before I forget (ooops, I already did!), Tori Spelling was also in this. She played a very stupid nymphette who enjoys sexual encounters with Ghosts. 'Nuff said.
Okay, what else can I bag out. There is a lot of material for me here! I guess credibility is a good starter. I'm still trying to figure out how several of the characters rose from the dead, passed high school, or were released from mental institutions. I am also trying to figure out how they all ended up in the same college - I am quite sure you need some level of mental proficiency to actually go to college, which most characters did not possess, and then there was.......... ahhh bugger it I'll be here all day!
Storyline aside, were the jokes funny? I mean, thats what we came for right? Well, the answer is a big fat NO! I could have counted the number of funny ones on one hand, and the number of unfunny, inane, annoying, implausible and stupid ones on my blood vessels. Most of the jokes fell as flat as a pancake squashed under a bulldozer, and resorted to a lot of feeble toilet humour, which becomes tired after 1892 attempts. If you're going to make a comedy, at least make it funny!
I still have a few more things to make fun of here. I have probably made implications towards the script and the acting as well, but needless to say they were both awful too. The acting was insanely, stupendously bad. I was struggling to keep my insides in as these amateurs reeled off their lines, tried to keep my goggling eyes inside their sockets as punchline after punchline hit with all the intensity of cotton wool, and was left lauding the ability of a scriptwriter who could manage to start with a reasonable premise and not only kill it, but hack, stab, squish, stomp and otherwise maim his writing to the point of, well, indescribability.
One thing which I have to note is the terrible bad taste exhibited in this movie. Okay, there have been many instances where tasteless jokes have been pulled off well, but here they are as abundant as pollen spores and about as substantial. The scene with the basting turkey, and indeed anything with Chris Elliot in it, are almost sickening in their ridiculous portrayal. You pretty well had to grin and bear it, but for now I think I will try and avoid any movie with scenes of excreting, vomiting, mangled hands and food preparation, movies with bad-tempered parrots and pretty well anything with less than two seconds of real thought put into it. Doesn't give me a lot of choice, really!
I think by now you have the idea. Scary Movie 2 is a bad, bad movie, and whoever came up with the idea of a sequel so rushed, so incompetently pulled off in all areas and so devoid of redeeming features ought to be made to stand in the moviemaking corner for several years to think about just what they have done.
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Production Year: 1984 - Horror - Director: Joe Dante - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, Frances Lee McCain, Judge Reinhold, Corey Feldman
Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
All your favourite Scary Movie characters are back in a laugh-packed sequel that scares up ... more
even more irreverent fun than the original! Marlon Wayans Shawn Wayans and Anna Faris lead a stellar cast that takes extreme pleasure in skewering Hollywood's ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
All of your favourite Scary Movie characters are back in a hilarious sequel that scares up ... more
even more irreverent fun than the original. Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie, Requiem For A Dream), Shawn Wayans (Scary Movie, Don't Be A Menace...), and Anna Faris (S...
Advantages: This is hilarious - if you're of the juvenile persuasion. Disadvantages: This is terribly offensive, disgusting, and occasionally delves into sacrilege.
Sarah_B 31.03.2002 (31.03.2002)
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Review of Scary Movie 2 (DVD)