Where to Watch: Theaters
Directed By:
Michael Tiddes
Starring:
Anna Faris, Jon Abrahams, Regina Hall
Genre:
Comedy, Horror
All media courtesy of Paramount Pictures
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (See It or Skip It) – Don’t call it a comeback… because it’s not.
Yes, 13 years after the disastrous Scary Movie 5, Cindy (Anna Faris) and Brenda (Regina Hall) return. The two are now mothers and estranged from one another. But when Ghostface reappears and targets their children, they’ll have to come together and stop the writers from ever making a Scary Movie again.
The Wayans brothers return to the franchise after sitting out Scary Movie 3, 4, and 5 in an effort to bring the series back to its roots. Sadly, the jokes feel about as timely as a Tom from MySpace reference.
These movies live and die by their joke-to-minute ratio. Here, I’d say the jokes land about 25 to 30 percent of the time, which may end up being close to the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score. Many of them feel more stale than a Tiger King reference, and while I appreciate that the movie doesn’t spend its entire runtime taking shots at one political side or the other, the jokes themselves simply aren’t clever enough to work.
Most of the film ends up poorly imitating itself as it spoofs modern horror movies. There is one genuinely funny, completely out-of-place K-Pop joke that may be the best bit in the entire film, but it’s not enough. The bigger issue is that there isn’t enough for Anna Faris and Regina Hall to do. The script is so focused on introducing a new generation of characters that its biggest stars are reduced to supporting roles in their own comeback.
The original Scary Movie worked because it felt fast, fearless, and willing to make fun of absolutely everything. This new installment feels more interested in reminding audiences of what they used to love than giving them something new to laugh about. For a franchise built on staying one step ahead of pop culture, that’s the scariest thing of all.
See It or Skip It 