Showing posts with label marlon wayans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marlon wayans. Show all posts

Thursday, 9 October 2025

Him (2025)

Everyone knows that sport is a serious business. People get so passionate about it that it's quite scary. There are a number of sports that could take top priority in your life, and many Americans absolutely love their American Football, whether they're supporting a team or spending some of their youth risking injury and pain for the sake of becoming a decent player. Him is a film about someone who could be more than a decent player. That person could be a new GOAT, but it's going to require a fair amount of sacrifice, of course.

Tyriq Withers plays Cam, a young football player who looks to have a bright future ahead of him. Then he's suddenly attacked, which leads to him requiring some rehabilitation and a reconsideration of his options. He still wants to play football though, and he wants to be the best. That's how he ends up being given the opportunity to be mentored by the great Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), a quarterback who is due to retire from his team, the San Antonio Saviors. Has Cam got what it takes to make it? And will he want everything that comes with his potential superstardom?

If I told you that I'd already heard some mixed opinions on this film then I'd be lying. Most people I know disliked it. Some hated it. I couldn't help being intrigued though, especially with the cast including Wayans in that main role, and support from Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, and Jim Jefferies. I also enjoyed the fact that I both knew the kind of film that I was getting, yet also wasn't sure exactly where it was going to go before the end credits rolled. 

Directed by Justin Tipping, who also co-wrote it with Skip Bronkie and Zack Akers, Him is an enjoyable trip into some truly bonkers horror territory. Things start off strange, and it only gets weirder and weirder with each subsequent sequence, but it's easy to believe that Cam would tolerate almost anything as he stretches further out over the abyss while ready to grab his golden prize. It feels very much like a case of someone being bemused, but also thinking "okay, this is how things happen when you can just do anything you want". 

There's a great soundtrack and score accompanying the impressive visuals, with everything designed to be impressively cool and unsettling, and the lead performances are good enough to sell the main storyline. Withers is decent, although he's the least interesting character until allowed to have some fun in the third act. Wayans is superb, almost giving us two very different characters in one, a man who has given his all to something that has also given him everything in return, for better or worse. Heidecker is cast well, Jefferies equally so, and Fox seems to have been asked to play her character as a cross between a business manager and Lady Gaga. Which, to be clear, I am not complaining about. 

While it may not work for those wanting something comfortably familiar, and less darkly comedic, Him absolutely hit the spot for me. It looks at pain, at sacrifice, at being pushed along a certain path through life that was plotted for you by others, and it felt like a genre-shaded mockery of the lengths that people and clubs will go to in order to tie a potentially great player into a contract. And it does it all in a decent 96-minute runtime. It may not be a complete blowout, but it's a convincing victory.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

Sunday, 1 October 2023

Netflix And Chill: The Curse Of Bridge Hollow (2022)

There are a couple of ways to summarise The Curse Of Bridge Hollow. I could tell you that it's a bit like another (unoffocial) Goosebumps movie. I could tell you that it's family fun nicely in line with the atmosphere and thrills of the spooky season. Or I could tell you that I watched it last year and forgot to review it until this year. That's not intended to condemn the film, but it does hint at it feeling more like a pleasant distraction as opposed to something more substantial. I'm glad I waited a year to rewatch and review this though, because I think I actually enjoyed it more this time around.

Priah Ferguson plays Sydney Gordon, a teenager who moves into a new town with her parents (played by Marlon Wayans and Kelly Rowland). While her parents seem happy about the move, Sydney is less than pleased. At least the residents of the town seem to be having fun as they get into the spirit of Halloween, but things turn dangerous when a curse starts to bring most of the many Halloween decorations to life. It isn't long until Sydney and her father are battling against spiders, zombies, killer clowns, and more while they try to figure out how to break the curse.

Written by Todd Berger, Robert Rugan, and John R. Morey, with only Berger having a decent selection of feature screenplays already under his belt, this is easygoing entertainment that manages to keep everything weighted more towards the fun than the scares (although those killer clowns may creep out a few viewers). It's not for the very young, but most teens who aren't yet ready for the illicit thrills of higher-certificated content should get a real kick out of this once it all gets going. And it's paced well enough to get going without too much pre-amble. You get to know the characters and the town, but things don't ever really settle down once the consequences of the curse start to become clear to everyone suddenly in danger. 

The cast do well to boost the material, with Wayans good fun in the role of "uptight dad" while Ferguson easily proves herself as a very capable young lead. Rowland gets a lot less to do, but she's fine, and it's a wise move to give supporting roles to John Michael Higgins, Lauren Lapkus, and Rob Riggle, all of whom are allowed to add some humour without being overused. Abi Monterey, Holly J. Barrett, and Myles Perez play three other teens who befriend/help our lead, and they also do a good job.

Jeff Wadlow directs with a steady hand, also making great use of special effects and CGI that blend together to make the all-too-lively Halloween decorations feel nicely textured and realised. Most importantly, no one thing overshadows anything else, which means that nothing feels unbalanced. That goes for the cast, the FX work, the chuckles and the chills, and the father-daughter bonding moments amidst the fight against frighteners.

If you're after some spooky family entertainment, or you just fancy watching something yourself that isn't aiming to turn you into a nervous wreck or a traumatised mess, then The Curse Of Bridge Hollow is a good choice for this time of year. I'm glad that I made time this year to rewatch it, and maybe this review will remind others that it is still tucked away on Netflix (as it is all too easy to forget when they spend so much time pushing their newer content to the top of the main page).

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Monday, 19 June 2023

Mubi Monday: Requiem For A Dream (2000)

It might seem glaringly obvious now, but writer-director Darren Aronofsky has never been one to do subtlety. Whatever his movie is about, he damn sure wants to beat you over the head with it. That often works, however, because he picks movies that are filled to the brim with visual tricks and flourishes that help to sugar-coat the bitter pill we are being made to swallow.

Requiem For A Dream may actually be the least subtle film from Aronofsky, which is really saying something, but it is also up there with his very best. A tale of various addictions, and the rise and fall of the central characters, it is a grim endurance test that just, and I do mean just, manages to keep viewers watching through to the end credits.

Jared Leto plays Harry Goldfarb, a young junkie who has dreams of making a better life for himself and his girlfriend (Marion, played by Jennifer Connelly). Harry and his friend, Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), just need to stay focused and straight as they transition from users to dealers. But that isn’t easy, especially when all three individuals start to feel the need for drugs at different times. Meanwhile, Harry’s mother, Sara (Ellen Burstyn), is addicted to her TV, and one game show in particular. When she receives an invitation to participate on the show, she starts to fret about her appearance, eventually seeking a doctor to prescribe her diet pills that will help her fit into the red dress she plans to wear on TV.

Based on work by Hubert Selby Jr., who then worked with Aronofsky on the screenplay, this is not only a requiem onscreen, but an almost unbearable, hellish, crescendo for most of the second half, culminating in a finale that I don’t think I would have been able to get through on the big screen (although I kind of wish I had been able to see this when it was first released). The structure and dialogue work well enough, but you then have the dizzying visual style AND a propulsive and bone-shaking score from Clint Mansell (assisted by the Kronos Quartet on strings, as well as numerous other musicians helping him to create the audio tapestry).

Leto is quite good in his role here, and he is equalled by both Connelly and Wayans at different times, but the younger cast member are all given the typical shivering junkie material to work with, in many ways. The real standout is Burstyn, giving a vulnerable and frail performance that will break your heart as she slides further and further into her own delusion. It is arguably her best ever performance, and her journey is the toughest to watch (which is astounding, considering what all four characters go through). The other person deserving a mention here is Christopher McDonald, doing a great job of portraying a typically polished and smarmy TV show host, whether actually on the TV screen or wandering through the mind of Burstyn’s character.

Not entirely dire and downbeat, although any moments of lightness or humour are few and far between, Requiem For A Dream is a film that deliberately puts you through the wringer. It may be simplistic, in a number of ways, and it may seem a bit ridiculous as it hurtles towards a dark and twisted climax, but it also shows characters moving back and forth between being functioning addicts and spaced-out zombies better than pretty much any other film I can think of, with the notable exception of a certain Danny Boyle/Irvine Welsh collaboration that helped define the 1990s.

A must-watch, as long as you can handle the content, but I can understand anyone who then decides never to give it a repeat viewing. I own it, but I never think of it as a film to stick on while I have many other options that won’t leave me wanting to scrub my brain and eyes with industrial-strength bleach.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Wednesday, 24 May 2023

Prime Time: Air (2023)

If you are going to make a film about the creation of a superstar shoe then you should probably help yourself in a number of ways. First, make sure you have a good director and write combo. Second, assemble a great cast to keep the story compelling as we wind our way between obstacles on the way to the ending that we already know. Third, try to make it fun. Nobody wants to come away from a film feeling as if they have just watched a 2-hour advert for one product.

Air is all about the deal that got Michael Jordan working with Nike, lending his name to the famous Nike Air Jordan line, and now seems as good a time as any to turn that story into a film. Especially while Adidas are crying into a huge pile of Yeezy trainers, proving how costly it can be when these things go majorly wrong. Knowing that people won’t just want to see a deal, and trainer, being made though, Air is also 1980s: The Movie. If there’s something from the first half of that decade that you have a fond nostalgia for then the chances are good that you will see it onscreen. Some may not like that approach, but I definitely enjoyed it, helped by the fact that the decade was the time of my formative years (well, not counting the decades of emotional arrested development I had to work hard to break through in just the past few years).

Ben Affleck is in the director’s chair, as well as giving himself the role of Nike CEO Phil Knight, and he does a great job with the script from first-timer Alex Convery. There are lots of great dialogue exchanges throughout, and numerous fascinating titbits sprinkled here and there, with everything surrounded by ‘80s ephemera and soundtracked by a cracking selection of hits (from Dire Straits to Harold Faltermeyer, Bruce Springsteen, and many more).

Although Affleck has a decent role, he’s a supporting player. The main character is Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon. He is the man who sees the potential in Jordan, and the potential in this landmark deal. Well, to be absolutely correct, the main character is Michael Jordan, but, excluding a montage of his major life moments, he is only ever shown in part, played by an actor who is shown from the back or is kept just off frame. His mother and father are played by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, and Davis gets a couple of great scenes that highlight how her approval was vital to clinching the deal. Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, and Matthew Maher also play a variety of people who all end up playing a part, big or small, in making the collaboration happen, and everyone seems to enjoy being part of such a perfectly-cast ensemble.

The cinematic equivalent of “dad rock”, Air also manages to justify its own existence by showing just how important the Nike Air Jordan became to so many people, from the company making profits to the Jordan family, to the entire world of sport, the world of clothing brands, and to the fans who rushed out to buy a shoe they saw not just any shoe, but a genuine piece of their idol. It’s also a lot of fun.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Sunday, 27 January 2019

Netflix And Chill: Mo' Money (1992)

We've all got movies that we've sat through because, well, a partner enjoys it and relationships are about compromise. Sometimes that leads you to some new favourites, sometimes you end up seeing every single Twilight movie, and sometimes you sit there with a smile plastered on your face while trying to figure out what is so entertaining about Mo' Money. I found myself in that last situation a couple of decades ago, and have studiously avoided the film ever since. But I decided that I would revisit it when I saw it on Netflix. Maybe my memory of it was all wrong. Maybe it was actually a good film. Neither of those statements proved to be correct.

The plot revolves around a couple of crooks that viewers are supposed to root for, two brothers named Johnny (Damon Wayans) and Seymour (Marlon Wayans). Johnny, in an attempt to win over a beautiful woman (Amber, played by Stacey Dash), gets a job in a credit card company. He eventually realises that he can use the returned cards, which are all sent out pre-authorised, to treat himself to the good life. This quickly gets him in trouble, but he doesn't realise how much trouble. The head of security (Keith, played by John Diehl) is already working a very profitable scam, and the first scenes show that he will kill to keep himself safe.

Okay, I'm not a big fan of any of the Wayans brothers, although Damon is probably the one I dislike the least (he did at least star in the greatness that is The Last Boy Scout), but even that factor isn't enough to explain why Mo' Money is such a bad film, and it is a BAD film. As much as I may not mind Wayans onscreen, his script here is atrocious. It must have been bad back in the early '90s but it seems a hell of a lot worse now. The plot and characters give you nothing to invest in, the comedic set-pieces include the Wayans brothers pretending that one of them has a mental health issue causing him to throw food around a store until they get a free sandwich to help calm him down, the Wayans brothers pretending to be a simple "foreigner" who could be easily ripped-off by a cab driver (distracting the driver while the other man tries to rob his takings), and the Wayans brothers pretending to be supremely gay as they misuse a credit card in a jewellery store. And that's before we start to look at the way the character played by Dash is viewed at one point (willing to endure a bad relationship for the money), the jokes derided from the look/longing of a woman named Charlotte (played by Almayvonne), or the simple fact that viewers are supposed to root for the main characters here because they're crooks who probably won't kill anyone.

Peter Macdonald directs with the feeling that he has been given a paycheck and then overruled on every aspect of the film by the Wayans brothers. Never any kind of auteur, in my limited exposure to his filmography, it's difficult to see a lot of the decisions made here as anything other than the sort of decisions made by a writer-star with a self-inflated sense of their own importance. And, considering the tales that have been told in recent years about Wayans, that becomes a lot easier to imagine.

Wayans and Wayans are how they are, both aiming to riff on Eddie Murphy's stylings and both failing to do anything other than remind you of how great Eddie Murphy was when at his peak. Dash, although not helped in any way by the script, is a welcome presence, and Diehl is a small saving grace, portraying the charming and menacing villain so well that you forget that he looks like someone playing Kevin Costner in a TV movie entitled "The Tide Has Turned: Waterworld And How I Survived It" within a few minutes. I've already mentioned the poor treatment of Almayvonne, Harry Lennix does what he can with his weak role, and Joe Santos actually makes his role (a tenacious cop who wants the lead to turn his life around) better than it should be.

"Why settle for less?" was one of the main taglines for this when it was first released. That definitely still seems like the best line to use, but more as a warning than a selling point.

3/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can get it here.


Sunday, 13 April 2014

April Fools: A Haunted House (2013)

A parody full of juvenile humour that focuses on sex and/or flatulence, it must be something created by one of the Wayans brothers. Lo and behold, yes it is. Marlon Wayans co-wrote this one with Rick Alvarez, and he also gets the leading role, funnily enough.

Wayans is Malcolm, a young man about to take a big step in his relationship with Kisha (Essence Atkins). Yes, they're moving in together. Unfortunately, that's the cue for a lot of supernatural shenanigans, which leads to Malcolm fitting the house with lots of cameras, in an attempt to see just what is going on in their home.

Mainly referencing the Paranormal Activity series for most of the gags, this film also lifts moments from The Last Exorcism and The Devil Inside. That's not surprising, especially for anyone who saw the trailers. What IS surprising is how many gags manage to avoid being completely awful. I can't say that I thought A Haunted House was good, it's not one I would ever want to watch again, but it was certainly better than I thought it was going to be. There were even one or two moments that made me smirk.

Wayans is slightly less annoying than usual here, but he's still annoying. Has he ever done anything in which he wasn't annoying? Probably, but I really can't think of anything just now. Essence Atkins is a little bit more enjoyable, and the supporting turns from David Koechner, Cedric The Entertainer and Nick Swardson provide some chuckles. I just wish the same could be said of everyone given screentime (Affion Crockett isn't great, but he's also given some of the worst material to work with).

The script is as lowbrow as expected, and the direction from Michael Tiddes works with the material to hammer home each joke and ensure that things are kept tasteless. Why hint at something when it can be shown? Subtlety is not a keyword here.

There's an audience for this kind of movie (the sequel was greenlit a while ago, god help us) but I'll never be a fan. My generous rating reflects the few gags that worked, and worked well. The dialogue between Koechner and Wayans is particularly enjoyable, and perhaps it's worth noting that their best moment doesn't directly parody any other movie.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunted-House-Blu-ray-Marlon-Wayans/dp/B00ECWY18E/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1397041646&sr=1-2&keywords=a+haunted+house



Tuesday, 1 April 2014

April Fools: The Heat (2013)

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are the odd couple thrown together in this standard buddy cop comedy that ends up providing a fair amount of chuckles, thanks to the talents of the cast and a consistently amusing, if not outright hilarious, script.

Bullock is Agent Ashburn, a Fed who takes great pride in her work. Well, it's basically all she has in her life. Except for her cat, which actually belongs to her neighbour. When a big case takes her to Boston it's not long until she bumps into the aggressive and unorthodox Mullins (McCarthy). Which means, of course, that the two of them have to work together to crack the case.

Director Paul Feig, who scored a huge hit with his previous movie, Bridesmaids, proves here that he has a knack of working well with talented comedic actresses. Or that he has a knack of working well with talented female writers, as it's Katie Dippold who wrote the script. Or maybe he just does well when paired up with McCarthy, who was one of many highlights in Bridesmaids, of course.

I've always been a fan of Bullock, and I think she's particularly good in comedic roles. The Heat reminds people of just how good she is with the right material. McCarthy gets most of the big laughs, of course, but Bullock does well as the uptight agent who might just learn to loosen up a little bit over the course of the movie. McCarthy really shines here, unlike her turn in the misjudged Identity Thief, and I hope she considers clearing her schedule for any future opportunities to work with Feig, who obviously knows how to get the best out of her.

While none of the other main characters are played by any BIG names, I must say that the supporting cast had a great selection of talent. Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Bill Burr, Thomas F. Wilson, Jane Curtin and others all join in with the fun, and everyone seems to have a good time.

The script could have been sharper, the film could have been tightened up a bit (the runtime is just under two hours), and there's a fine line being walked between filling the movie with cliches and having fun with them, but there's plenty here to enjoy, especially for fans of the two leads.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Heat-Blu-ray-UV-Copy/dp/B00DHB410E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391201784&sr=8-2&keywords=the+heat


Thursday, 20 February 2014

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (2009)

If you go into this movie and don't realise what you're going to get then you deserve everything coming to you, even if that's a real downer for you. This is a movie based on a series of toys (G.I. Joe being the original, American version of our very own Action Man action figures here in the UK) and directed by a man (Stephen Sommers) well-known for providing spectacle over substance.

I can happily admit to enjoying many Stephen Sommers movies (even the majorly drubbed Van Helsing) so I already had an idea that I was going to like the G.I. Joe film. As things began, and it hits the ground running, I was proved very much correct.

The story is pretty much summed up in the title, but I'll give the very briefest recap here. Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans play two soldiers who are tasked with carrying some dangerous warheads from A to B. When their convoy is attacked, they meet a team from the G.I. Joe program. One thing leads to another and the two men decide that they want a piece of that action. People fight each other, backstories are dripfed throughout the movie in flashbacks, and there's a chase sequence through Paris that's up there with the very best of modern popcorn entertainment.

The cast all do their jobs. Dennis Quaid is great as a tough-talking, caring leader, Christopher Eccleston is good enough in his role (he created the warheads) and the others all do just fine at portraying . . . . action figures on screen. Tatum continues to be likable while scowling and looking tough, Wayans is a lot less annoying here than he usually is in any other movie and Arnold Vosloo does a very passable Arnold Vosloo impression (see pretty much every other Arnold Vosloo role ever . . . . . and don't think I'm demeaning him, I love his work). There are more tough men onscreen, portrayed by the likes of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ray Park and Lee Byung-hun, and then some tough female characters portrayed by Sienna Miller and Rachel Nichols. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonathan Pryce and some other famous faces (Brendan Fraser has a fun cameo) pop up to flesh out the cast, and everyone is good enough to almost make you forget it's going to be brainless, loud fun.

Then we get to the amazing, razzle dazzle, fireworks experience, and boy does it deliver in that department. Things are a little bit slow and generic in the first half of the movie (quick character sketches, training montage, the mission briefing, etc. all present and correct) but from the start of that aforementioned sequence in Paris things step up to another level. It's fast and furious, it's loud and proud, it's delirious fun for those who don't mind seeing some obvious computerised images amongst some great, adrenaline-pumping action moments.

Mixing the essence of the action figures (keep an eye out for all of the little details that crop up throughout) with a number of elements that wouldn't look out of place in any James Bond movie, this is one of my favourite American action movies from the past few years.

8/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

After the success of Scary Movie everyone knew that a sequel was going to happen. I'm not sure if many people thought the thing would become a money-making franchise, but the sequel was definitely coming, whether we liked it or not. Keenen Ivory Wayans returned to direct and the script was whipped into shape by no less than SEVEN writers. Seven writers and this is the best that they came up with? Someone needs to change job, in my opinion.

Starting off with a fairly amusing spoof of The Exorcist, made all the better thanks to a fantastic cameo from James Woods, the whole thing swiftly moves on to parody numerous haunted house movies. The Haunting, The Legend Of Hell House, The Changeling, What Lies Beneath, Poltergeist and . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hollow Man and Charlie's Angels all find themselves on the receiving end of some unsubtle spoofery. A group of young folks - Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Kathleen Robertson, Tori Spelling, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Christopher Masterson - all head out to a big, slightly spooky house as part of a school project. While there, they are also in the company of their professor (Tim Curry), his wheelchair-bound assistant (David Cross) and a strange house servant (Chris Elliott) with a deformed left hand. Oh, and the ghosts. They're also in the company of a lot of ghosts.

When I first watched Scary Movie 2 I thought it was one of the worst movies that I'd ever seen. I wasn't far wrong, and it's certainly not a film I would recommend to anyone, but I must admit that I do manage to get a few giggles from it when rewatching it nowadays. The opening section is particularly fun, but then it starts to go downhill fast.

The franchise gets a fair bit of goodwill from me thanks to the inclusion of Anna Faris and Regina Hall, both funny women who always try to make the best of the material. This is, however, offset by the fact that Shawn Wayans plays the most annoying character, Shorty, in any comedy franchise that I can think of. The rest of the cast here do okay, with the exception of Chris Elliott, who is the SECOND most annoying character in any comedy franchise.

Once again mixing crude gags amongst the spoof moments, and once again including a pop culture reference outdated within years of its release (this time it's a GAP advert), this should appeal to fans of the first movie, but even they might see sense and decide to skip it in favour of other instalments in the franchise.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scary-Movie-Collection-DVD/dp/B001ECPV6Q/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1377373211&sr=8-11&keywords=scary+movie



Saturday, 23 April 2011

Scary Movie (2000).

Most fans know by now that Scary Movie was the original title for Scream, which provides the main target for this parody.

Most fans also know, I hope, that Scary Movie isn’t all that good. Oh, it’s certainly not the worst (that would be Scary Movie 2) but it’s a horror comedy superceded by movies like Student Bodies, Bloodbath At The House Of Death (reviewed in this blog just last week) and even Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth, in my view.

The plot? Well, it’s essentially the plot of Scream mixed with a liberal sprinkling of moments from I Know What You Did Last Summer. And a Budweiser advert. And the obligatory, for the time anyway, Matrix gag.

The cast is a real mixed bag. Anna Faris is quite a delight and a wonderful, natural comic talent. I also really like Regina Hall even though her character is often annoying as hell. Jon Abrahams? He’s not bad but not all that great either. Cheri Oteri is pretty funny as Gail Hailstorm. Then we have two of the Wayans brothers. Marlon Wayans is, quite possibly, THE most irritating character to be included in a comedy movie ever while Shawn Wayans wrings a few more laughs out of numerous jokes questioning his character’s sexuality. Kurt Fuller gets some decent moments but the rest of the material is very much hit or miss.

The direction by Keenen Ivory Wayans simply allows for the parade of obvious gags and hammers home everything for fear of leaving any of the material seeming too subtle.

It’s no surprise to see the Wayans brothers names in the script department either but, more tellingly, the big warning lights should start flashing when you see the names Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Never mind the numerous comments about Michael Bay being the so-called antichrist or The Asylum being responsible for the very worst in movie entertainment, Friedberg and Seltzer between them tried to kill off comedy movies with their lame attempts at humour and this is where it all started. Well, the two first worked together on Spy Hard, but that had a title song by Weird Al Yankovic and was actually decent in places so let’s give that one a pass.

Despite the many things going against it (the irritating characters, the unfunny cast members, Friedberg and Seltzer), Scary Movie has just enough going FOR it to still make it a mildly amusing spoof. Faris is the biggest bonus but there’s also the simple fact that the riff on the most famous Scream sequences ARE pretty funny. So it gets by. Just. 
 
6/10.

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share