Jolt Country

Parody films were all the rage in the 90s, from Mike Myers' Austin Powers films to the Hot Shots films, Spy Hard, Loaded Weapon, Wrongfully Accused, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Naked Gun parts II and III. In 2000, Wayans brothers Keenan, Shawn and Marlon took their own "stab" at the genre with Scary Movie, a parody of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Although one might not think it were possible, the plot of Scary Movie mashes the plot of those two films and dumbs things down even further. In this film, a group of high school students are stalked by a man they believe they killed in a car accident (I Know What You Did Last Summer) who dresses like Ghost Face, the killer from Scream. Multiple scenes from those two films are directly parodied, along with lots of other films along the way. While several members of the Scary Movie cast like Anna Faris (Cindy Campbell), Jon Abrahams (Bobby Prinze), and Regina Hall (Brenda) were unknowns at the time, the Wayans used their star power to bring on others including Shannon Elizabeth (then of American Pie) along with lots of stars including Carmen Electra, Cheri Oteri, Kelli Coffield, Kurt Fuller, and David "Squiggy" Lander. Shawn and Marlon Wayans rounded out the lead cast while brother Keenan Ivory directed.

If you've seen either of the movies parodied the plot is simply to follow, and even if you haven't it's simple to follow because... it's simple. A guy in a costume is trying to kill a bunch of teenagers -- or, as they describe themselves in one scene, "a bunch of 20-30 year old actors pretending to be high school students." The killer knocks off Carmen Electra's "Drew" in the opening scene as it parodies the opening of Scream. Throughout the scene the killer looks at Carmen Electra's "spread" in Playboy, Drew accidentally attacks a group of children trick-or-treating with a baseball bat, and the killer stabs Drew in the chest, accidentally removing her breast implant. There's a joke about Carmen Electra having sex with Prince, and shortly before she's stabbed Electra's Drew is hit by a car driven by her father who is receiving oral sex from her mother. Within the first five minutes, the boundaries -- or lack thereof -- have been clearly set.

While some of the actors (particularly the girls) shine, the Wayans kept the two most annoying roles for themselves. Shawn plays Ray, a closet homosexual who makes gay jokes in every scene he's in. Marlon plays Shorty, an over the top stoner who screams, references weed, or both constantly. With a core group of seven students there isn't always enough for everyone to do, but each character is so unique and one dimensional that there's no problem differentiating who is who.

It's easy to forget how quickly (and often, poorly) these films age, especially ones with such specific parodies. There are lots of references to scenes in the two afore mentioned movies, and other fans of films will probably her the ending (a parody of the Usual Suspects) and a close up short of Cheri Oteri in the woods parodying the infamous selfie scene from Blair Witch. There are also some Matrix references in one of the later fight scenes that most people will recognize, but other stuff I can't imagine people knowing today. The middle of the film features a two-minute parody of the old Budweiser "Whassup!" commercial that was big in the late 90s; there's no way anyone from Gen-Z will pick up on that one. The same scene that features the Matrix fight movies also includes a Riverdance parody that feels very dated.

I'm not sure why the decision was made, but while the movie features no female nudity (despite a couple of "just about" sex scenes), we get at least two prominently featured penises and, in a separate scene, a saggy pair of balls. There are multiple simulated oral sex scenes (both ways) and a sex scene in which a girl's pubic area is trimmed with a hedge trimmer and a woman is pinned to the ceiling with a hydrant-amount of ejaculate. The whole film feels like a PG-13 outing with some really, really weird choices forcing an R-rating.

There are, in between all the dated parodies and dicks, some funny moments. The scene where Shannon Elizabeth runs into the street after hitting a pedestrian and screams "we hit a boot!" makes me laugh every time. Brenda's demise, as the stereotypical "loud black woman in a theater," is one of the film's better moments. And if nothing else, the film's worth a watch for the launch of Anna Feris's career, who was a great actress until she wasn't. As for all the characters who meet untimely deaths in this film, don't worry too much -- it's only a movie, and they all return for the sequel.