Whoever helped create “Scary
Movie” the highest-grossing R-Rated film at the time, there’s more of the unbelievable
offensiveness that made its breakthrough success the previous year and more,
too, of the absurdness: many of the cast that were murdered in the first movie
have come back in the sequel.
The film starts at a
haunted house. The title “Hell House” shows up, if we had somehow missed that.
This part spoofs “The Exorcist,” maybe encouraged by the film’s successful
re-release in 2000. The scene, like most of the others in “Scary Movie 2,” is
only slightly related to the story. After the fast “The Exorcist” spoof and a
very funny whites-only repeat of a recent rap song, the film moves to “One Year
Later,” with Cindy Campbell now in college.
She’s with her other “Scary
Movie” friends: Shorty (Marlon Wayans), his sister Brenda (Regina Hall) and her
boyfriend, Ray (Shawn Wayans). (The sequel also redoes the first film’s dull
visuals and boring pacing).
There’s also a link to
the “Hell House” part at the beginning: Cindy and her friends are invited to
that same house on the excuse of a scientific experiment by an evil professor
(Tim Curry) and his assistant (David Cross). Soon the house is attacked by
ghosts, and what’s even worse, by satires. The films that are parodied include “Final
Destination,” “What Lies Beneath,” “Rebecca” and commercials like the Nike
shoes.
Mitchell noted, “As a
sequel, ''Scary Movie 2'' is a tamer beast than its predecessor and lacks any
truly shocking moments, like the once anticipated appearance by Marlon Brando
as a priest in the ''Exorcist'' segment. (Mr. Brando was unable to appear
because of illness or a sudden attack of dignity, and was replaced by James
Woods.)”
Mitchell also mentioned, “Aside
from the expulsion of an ocean of bodily fluid -- enough to float the cast of
both ''Survivor'' series back to the mainland -- much of the humor in this
sequel is based on the talking-back-to-the-screen gimmick used by moviegoing
characters in the film ''Hollywood Shuffle.''” That shameless attitude also was
the source of the Wayans’ “In Living Color” sketch-comedy show. Mitchell is
right when he said, “''Scary Movie 2'' seems pallid because it lacks the brains
of that show, which gave a voice to groups excluded from the American cultural
mainstream.”
I agree with Mitchell
when he said, “''Scary Movie 2'' does have the cutthroat cool that links it and
the original to hip-hop, and the take-no-prisoners crush of energy and cruelty
toward the targets of its spoofs. (There's also a singular brand of
inclusiveness: ''Scary Movie 2'' extends its satire to the disabled, also
caricatured in ''In Living Color.'')”
You will be able to say
this – as they say in rap battles – “Scary Movie 2” will aggravate screams of anger
from those saying that it is further hurrying the end of movies as we know
them. Maybe, in an occasional example of indirect social satire, this film was
released on Independence Day so that we would be reminded of the freedom of
speech right.
If you liked the first “Scary
Movie,” then you will not like this movie. This one is way more disgusting and obvious with its humor than the first one.
How could the first one be so successful that they decided to make a sequel?
Like I said, none of the movies follow any sort of continuity, so it doesn’t
matter if you watch them in order. You won’t miss a thing.
Well, I’m sorry to say
that this isn’t the last one. They made a third movie, which I will look at
tomorrow.
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