Film review: SCARY MOVIE 5, from Built For Speed
The first Scary Movie was a gleefully juvenile parody of 1990’s teen slasher movies such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. With its irreverent attitude toward the source material and plethora of obscene sex jokes it was kind edgy for its time. There was, however, no need for even one sequel to Scary Movie but amazingly we now have Scary Movie 5.
As with the previous instalments, number 5 cobbles together a plot out of clumsy parodies of recent films including, Paranormal Activity, Inception, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and for its template, Mama. High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale substitutes for Jessica Chastain as the reluctant mother of two feral children found in a cabin in the woods who seem to have brought home an evil spirit.
Unfortunately, Scary Movie 5 is almost entirely devoid of wit and fails to make anything resembling a clever observation about the films it parodies. Instead, it simply mimics the look and basic plot of the original films then inserts mind-numbingly repetitive and simple-minded gags involving genitalia, bodily fluids (and solids), racial and sexual stereotypes and people getting smacked in the head. It’s generally benign stuff but the film’s grotesque and insulting depiction of a Hispanic maid is totally reprehensible.
Scary Movie 5 was co-written by David Zucker the man who gave us Flying High but this film has barely a shred of the trademark twisted logic and inspired lunacy that made his 80’s comedies so much fun.
Scary Movie 5 also employs the lazy comedy technique of casting celebrities simply to parody themselves. Here, Hollywood has-beens and dubious personalities such as Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Logan, Snoop Dogg and of course, Mike Tyson amble across the screen to almost no comic effect. Lohan even tries to wrench a few laughs out of her much publicised driving infringements. The main cast – which apart from Tisdale and Jerry O’Connell (as the bondage nut from 50 Shades of Grey) is comprised of unknowns – are rarely funny and mostly just shrill and hammy.
We know its throwaway cinema but we would hope for something funnier and cleverer than this lazy effort. If nothing else can be said for Scary Movie 5, at least it’s better than Movie 43.
Nick’s rating: One and a half stars.
Classification: M.
Director(s): Malcolm D. Lee
Release date: 11th April 2013.
Running time: 85 mins.