SCARY MOVIE

Too many writers, not enough blood

Not to be confused with the 1989 feature of the same name.

Dimension Films, faced with two competing pictures that sent up the horror boom of the late '90s, decided to merge both projects. Heck, I think there were a few more scripts jammed in there, too.

There were a lot of people laughing in the audience throughout this feature. I thought it was funny here and there, but lame over all. Keenan Ivory Wayans directed and starred in the hilarious I'm Gonna Get You Sucka years ago, but that movie had some kind of real story running through it. For this, the stated logic is that since the source material is plotless, so the parody should be plotless, too.

Wayan's brothers Shawn and Marlon, who came up with one of the scripts, get more than their share of screen time. Anna Faris is the supposed star, and is funny in her scenes as the virginal teen heroine. Other good bits include Regina Hall as an annoying theater patron who gets her just desserts, and Cheri Oteri's portrait of a TV reporter run amok. The most cutting portrayal is is Dave Sheridan's swipe at David Arquette's earnest-but-dim police deputy, playing him as downright retarded.

Scary Movie adopts the form of it's target - as any good parody should - enough of the time to gain points. However, with so many cooks stepping on the pot, the only way to tell the beginning from the end is to check for the credit scroll. Since the flick broke some kind of record it's opening weekend, I'd guess people just don't have any other strong comedies to watch at the time, since this movie's really not any funnier than - say, High School High.

With it's episodic structure, the movie comes off as more of a collection of skits. This kind of flick usually plays better on video, but so many of the jokes are topical that it may not be the case here. Most people won't even remember the "Whasssup!" Budweiser commercials by the time this hits video.

Psycho killers; heads roll; kung fu.

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