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The Movie: One of the biggest surprises of last summer was a spoof on the tired teen horror genre. It was a highly advertised movie with no real star power. The biggest name in the cast was Shannon Elizabeth who had just come off a hit the previous summer with American Pie. On July 9th 2000, Scary Movie opened to rave reviews and huge crowds and before the summer was over had earned over 100 million dollars. The film had an interesting tag line in "No Shame, No Mercy, No Sequel" but we all know money talks in Hollywood and before you know it work had started on a sequel. Now just 5 days shy of a year later Scary Movie 2 opens amidst less fanfare then it's predecessor. The second film picks up a few months after the first one left off with our heroine Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) now enrolled in College. Joining her are her friends Ray (Shawn Wayans) , Brenda (Regina Hall) and Shortie (Marlon Wayans) who all died in the first film but yet are miraculously once again alive. It's class time and like all movies they all happen to have the same class. However this is not a regular class. The class is taught by the Professor (Tim Curry) and is actually a front for some sort of scientific experiment. Under the disguise of a sleeping disorder clinic (cough.. ahem.. The Haunting anyone??) everyone is invited to spend the weekend in a house which unbeknownst to them is haunted (hmm.. House on Haunted Hill) It is here we are introduced to the creepy caretaker Hanson (Chris Elliot) and the other students enrolled in this special class. Theo, a saucy redhead (Kathleen Robertson), Buddy (Christopher Masterson) the regular everyday guy and Alex (Tori Spelling) who doesn't really interact with the others at all. Also staying the weekend is the Professor's nerdy wheelchair bound scientist friend (David Cross). Suddenly when the house awakens people start getting attacked all because Cindy looks like the home owner's long lost true love. Like the original Scary Movie the sequel lampoons numerous horror movies including The Amityville Horror, Scream, Carrie, House on Haunted Hill and in one of it's funniest sequences The Exorcist. The spoofs don't end there though as Dude, Where's My Car, Cast Away (complete with an appearance from Wilson), Hollow Man, Charlie's Angels, Titanic and others also get shots taken at them. However while the original followed a storyline (Scream) and interspersed gags influenced by other films the sequel doesn't follow the same approach and it hurts the film overall. Instead of having a story here to advance things along in Scary Movie 2 the spoofs just come one after another for no apparent reason. One could easily move scenes around with out drastically altering the story. It seems that the things that worked the best in the first one are absent here and that's what really hurts the picture. Just when you thought Hollywood had reached the climax of how gross the so called gross out comedies could get think again. Scary Movie 2 has some of the nastiest sequences I've ever seen. All of which I will refrain from mentioning here. Suffice it to say that if you don't like bodily fluid jokes then you best stay away from Scary Movie 2. Scary Movie 2 makes the first one look tame by comparison. In addition to the gross out humour many people will find the film very offensive for other reasons. Constant puns made at the expensive of the wheelchair bound scientist is just one of a number of things that people might take offence to. This is not a movie for kids, in fact it's not really a movie for teenagers either even though they will flock to this movie. This as offensive as it gets people. You've been warned. The performances in Scary Movie 2 aren't very special at all. Anna Faris is letting her natural hair color (she's a blonde in real life) affect her intelligence level as she basically acts clueless throughout the entire film. After the first film you'd think her character would have some knowledge about how to handle herself in these frightening situations but no it's like that film never existed. Both Wayans brothers reprise their roles and do so well. 90210 cast mates Tori Spelling and Kathleen Robertson reunite here but don't really do much other then standing around looking pretty. David Cross is the best of the bunch as the scientist who constantly pokes fun at his own disability. A notable cameo and by far the highlight of the first 10 minutes is James Woods (in a role originally given to Marlin Brando) performance as a priest set to perform an exorcism. The performances are fine for the movie but there isn't really a standout like in the first one. If they can bring back characters from the dead why can't they bring back Shannon Elizabeth. Don't get me wrong Scary Movie 2 is a funny picture but it's not at the level of the first one. The first one was clever, original and a biting satire of the genre. The second one suffers from being rushed to the market, contains too many dated jokes (some of the jokes will be lost on audiences even a year down the road) and a lack of standout casting. While it lacks the smart original take on the genre the first one offered it's a funny movie and with scenes such as the Prologue with James Wood and a scene parodying Jack and Rose's farewell from Titanic it's often down right hilarious. If you like the first one you'll like the sequel. Reviewed by Mark McLeod on July 4th 2001. |