I loved the original Scary Movie, so when this sequel came out in theaters, I headed into downtown Monterey. I thought this was a bit better than the movie it's generally spoofing, The Haunting, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original in the franchise. It has some funny moments, but like so many spoofs, it just eventually devolves into a mess where the actors are trying too hard to be funny without actual success. There are more moments where I was grossed out than actually amused. What this does for me mostly is confirm the downfall of a franchise that I thought had something to it.
As much as it pains me to say this, Anna Faris was TERRIBLE this time around. Normally, there's something about the vacant expression she wears that just cracks me up. That was still there, and I still found it entertaining, but if I actually paid attention to her, the effect came to a screeching halt. Tim Curry is a fine actor, but he was too over the top in his role. There's funny and then there's what Peter Griffin called the "god love her she's trying" kind of funny, which he applied (rightfully) to Elayne Boosler, but it applies pretty well to Curry with some pronoun changes. What funny was generated in this movie came from a trinity of the cast members: Regina Hall, (God help me) Marlon Wayans, and the parrot. It's a really, really bad sign when the funniest cast member is some sort of special effect.
And speaking of cast, did they ransack some sort of 90210 reject pile to fill out their band of fools? I didn't see Aaron Spelling's name anywhere on this, but Tori's appearance usually means daddy's involved somehow. I also noticed that Dimension, the studio responsible for Scream, is responsible for this movie, too. I guess that's one way to maximize the return on your investment.
You can probably avoid this movie. I wish I had.
