The Scary Movie franchise is back with Scary Movie 2, and each of the teens from the previous film are back for more action. When a group of unassuming teens are tricked into visiting a haunted house for a school trip all hell breaks loose. Can they survive the weekend, or will the horrific events that occur inside these harrowing walls consume them?
The first installment of the franchise focused on parodying the slasher films of the 1990’s, but Scary Movie 2 focuses on poking fun at paranormal films such as The Exorcist. It dives deep for references of these popular (and not so popular) supernatural films, and I’m sure that I didn’t understand each of the references. Beyond just diving deep for references, the writers: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, etc., do all that they can to extend the ridiculousness of this film far past its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of jokes that land cleanly on their feet, but they reach too far on occasion and make it difficult to appreciate aspects of the film. Crude, sexual humor is fine with me, but there are jokes that are just absurd, unentertaining, and cringey. This type of humor loses something in Scary Movie 2, and that’s a step in the wrong direction for the franchise.
Once again, like the first film, the actors play such ridiculous characters, and they are tasked with bringing to life the absurdities of each of those characters. Actors like S. Wayans, M. Wayans, Anna Faris (Cindy), Regina Hall (Brenda), and others manage to find success, and they effectively present the world with these odd, but interesting characters. The young talents, who at this point were a bit more established in the mainstream, find ways to bring this story and all of its pieces to life–but even better, they fall right back into their respective roles without missing a beat.
It seems that Scary Movie 2 is often regarded as the best film of the franchise, but I can’t seem to understand how it has been awarded this title. The first film feels honest and original, but Scary Movie 2 appears to have lost its way to some degree, and viewers are able to see that the writers struggle to piece things together in as cohesive a manner as Scary Movie. There are absolutely moments when I laughed out loud, and there is still some genius present in what the Wayans and their team create here, but not on the same level as what they’d done in the past or what they will do in the future. Honestly, and this may sound bad, but the most entertaining aspect of the humor is the racism and stereotypes. This is the same type of comedy that existed earlier in the franchise, and interestingly enough, this is one of the best aspects of the series so far. Scary Movie 2 is able to replicate this–and that I very much appreciate.
The story present in Scary Movie 2 remains on par with what viewers had seen in Scary Movie, but the comedy extends itself too far, and viewers struggle to appreciate the unnecessarily awkward moments of crudeness. The writers struggle to create something that compares to its predecessor, and the film just doesn’t live up to the hype. There are aspects of the comedy that I appreciate, but the majority of this film becomes a struggle to appreciate, ultimately leaving much to be desired. Scary Movie 2 isn’t a complete failure, but it fails to live up to what viewers had seen before, and that’s an issue.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.
Written by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, etc.
Starring Anna Faris, Regina Hall, David Cross, Chris Elliott, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Kathleen Robertson, Tim Curry, Christopher Masterson, Tori Spelling, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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