Scary Movie 3
When Scream made a splash in the mid 90s, people knew that spoofs and knock-offs were inevitable. The most successful was Scary Movie, made after the second Scream was released. It followed the plot of the original Scream fairly closely, and, being made by the same company that made Scream, they could get away with things. The Wayans Brothers were behind the first one, and I really liked it. The inevitable sequel followed a couple of years later, but it wasn't nearly as good as the original.
So, here we are, with the third movie in the series. This time around, the Wayans have said good-bye, and David Zucker has taken over. Zucker is a comedic genious, and he was behind such films as Airplane and Naked Gun. So, after seeing the trailers, I was pumped. The cast included spoof vets like Charlie Sheen, Leslie Nielsen, and a returning Anna Faris. It looked like a humorous time would be had by all.
For the most part, it was pretty crappy. The laughs, which should have been fast and furious, were not. They were few and far between. Leslie and Charlie were impeccable. I enjoyed every moment they were on, but the rest of the movie was kind of annoying. There was an actual plot, which attempted to join The Ring, Signs, the Matrix Reloaded, and 8 Mile for the most part, but joining them looked pretty painful.
Then again, it may be the mood I was in. I was pretty tired, and that usually affects the way I see movies. Of course, the other people in the theatre only laughed at the same time that I was laughing. Most of the time, everyone was silent. The gags were there, and they were classic Zucker, but it was like they abandoned any hope of being funny after the first half. And even though the running time was somewhere less than 90 minutes, it felt like a lot longer. So, I'm perplexed as to how it wasn't that funny.
Well, after this opening weekend, looking at the box office, the proposed Scary Movie 4 will no doubt be pushed through. It was well on its way to beating Red Dragon as the #1 grossing October movie ever. Well, maybe they'll do something fresh. Or not. I'm giving it a 6. And that's pretty generous.