How does one review a film like Scary Movie 2? If I was reviewing the first one, I could talk about how it breaks new ground in showing how screwed up the MPAA ratings system is. I could also call it an occasionally funny satire of the teen slasher genre.
But I'm reviewing Scary Movie 2, and am at a loss for what to write about. Besides, nothing I could say will stop or make you see Scary Movie 2. You've already decided whether or not to see the film, based on your love or hatred of the Wayans Brothers and the first Scary Movie. However, you could still end up seeing it, dragged along by a group of friends. My job now is simply to not spoil the jokes, like many a reviewer has done before.
But, I'll tell you why I was disappointed with the movie. There were some laughs: a few good (but tired) Catholic priest jokes, a hilarious Nike parody, and some wheelchair jokes I was ashamed to laugh at, but besides that, it seemed like the film was on the verge of a great joke that never delivered. I wanted more from the film. I wanted less jokes about bodily fluids and more ones that were, well, funny. (Side note to the Wayans Brothers: Four jokes about feces, vomit, urine, and one other unmentionable bodily fluid being sprayed in people's faces is the same damn joke.) I miss the old Wayans Brothers. I religiously watched In Living Color every week when it was on Fox in the early 90's. That show was much better at satire and plainly much funnier. Director Keenan Ivory Wayans needs to revisit his earlier material.
- Dan McQuade
