Amazon.com video review:
If you've seen Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, then you know the entire plot of Scary Movie. That's
okay, though, because this is a parody, and it helps to know the story in
order to be able to get the jokes. No, the biggest surprise here is not the
story as much as the amount of full-frontal male nudity. Really, in addition to
all the dick jokes (and the ass jokes and fart jokes), there's a couple of
shots of the male member, one of which is erect and used as a weapon.
Scary Movie somehow ended up with an R rating, which in a sense is
groundbreaking; perhaps our ratings board is loosening up after all.
But is it funny? That's the most important question, and the answer to that
is yes. In the vein of Airplane!, with a dash of the Farrelly
brothers, Scary Movie keeps throwing jokes at you one after another.
The law of averages says some of them have to hit, and enough of them do to
keep the movie entertaining. Unlike the makers of Airplane!,
however, the Wayans brothers aren't making this movie out of a love of the
genre, and unlike the Farrelly brothers, they don't make fun of retarded
people with any sort of respect, so the humor throughout feels a lot
uglier. Still, there are enough funny scenes in Scary Movie to make
the viewing experience worthwhile. Special credit must go to Lochlyn Munro
as Greg, the over-the-top jock, who steals the movie up until the time he's
gotta die.--Andy Spletzer
