Movie Review: "Scary Movie" Ages Wayans' Brand Of Comedy Into *OK, boomer* Territory
2/12 ForReel Score | 1/5 Stars
Maybe it’s because of my early childhood viewing of ZAZ’s (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) Airplane! or my chronically online foray into YouTube edits and Weird Al Yankovic that I’ve always found myself fascinated by the art of parody. Hours of Dav Pilkey reading sessions—whether that be Captain Underpants, Dog Man, or Super Diaper Baby—baked in me a love for the crossroads between the low brow and the absurd. Marking South Park as a maturation period, the rabbit hole sent me down many paths, one of which was the cinema of Marlon and Shawn Wayans. As a horror fan in equal measure, I consider the first Scary Movie to be a classic, though, with the franchise’s sixth and latest entry (also titled Scary Movie), I’m afraid that the Wayans Brothers’ comedic sorcery is long-gone.
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
By no means are the Wayans brothers’ films high art, though Scary Movie, White Chicks, and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood nonetheless remain undeniable classics of modern parody cinema. Even if their filmography has, in some capacity, aged like fine wine, no amount of reappraisal can reverse the critical flogging the Wayans brothers received in the 2000s. 2006’s Little Man marked a new low for the duo, with their last collaboration (until now), Dance Flick, released almost sixteen years ago. And, as far as long-awaited reunions go, Scary Movie isn’t as ceremonious as one may hope. That’s not to say my hopes were set high, but expectations can only go so low. I would’ve at least liked to laugh more.
Mimicking the plot structure of the fifth Scream (similarly titled Scream), Scary Movie follows a new generation of characters while getting the band—Shawn and Marlon Wayans, alongside Anna Faris and Regina Hall—back together. The commentary on franchise retreads and legacy sequels is self-aware as usual, though that self-awareness can only extend so far. Marlon’s “Shorty Meeks” is, at this point in the Scary Movie-verse, emotionally stunted and “unc,” as Scary Movie’s Gen-Z characters are quick to point out. It’s a self-deprecating joke on the surface, but its acknowledgement of how out of touch Marlon and Shawn are as comedians is quite ass-backwards. It’s a textbook case of the “wanting vs. having cake” debacle, and sets Scary Movie’s comedic tone on an already exhausted track.
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
When Marlon Wayans told Entertainment Weekly that the goal of Scary Movie was to “cancel the cancel culture,” my maybe-too-woke liberal arts degree brain started working overtime. Not only does the whole “are you triggered?” mentality profoundly reek of the genesis of the Trump era and subsequent culture war, but it also stinks of the “legalize comedy” bullshit that Elon Musk spouts nonstop. More often than not, comedians such as Ricky Gervais, Bill Maher, and Dave Chappelle whine about “cancel culture” because they’ve either stopped being funny or never were. Marlon’s most recent film, HIM, was a complete disaster, while Shawn has fallen off the radar entirely. As much as it pains me to decree it, I’m afraid the Wayans brothers have aged out of their prime.
As a form of parody, you could certainly do worse than Scary Movie (a friend recently gifted me a Blu-ray of 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Sight gags of cars hitting the kids from Weapons and riffs on the doorway scene from Sinners are, of course, timely and amusing, though that’s just the Scary Movie formula. When it comes to crassness, scenes of Marlon Wayans singing a weed-themed parody of “Golden” while having sex with the K-Pop Demon Hunters girls are certainly par for the course. That said, these are also paired with bits about nonbinary black people ripped from the average Fox News viewer’s wet dreams. In short, Scary Movie is neither funny nor clever.
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Though Scary Movie falters in many ways, its most egregious offense is simply being out of touch. There’s an undertone of bitterness to the new generation, with most of the “kids, am I right?” punchlines devolving into transphobia in some way—an interesting move for Marlon to make after publicly supporting his transgender son. As Scary Movie encroaches on the box office runs of Curry Barker’s Obsession and Kane Parsons’ Backrooms—two filmmakers in their twenties—it’s looking like Hollywood is officially no country for old men. By no means are parodic studio comedies dead (last year’s Naked Gun reboot was a riot), though, if Scary Movie is any indicator, it’s time for the Wayans brothers to move on to greener pastures; I don’t think I want White Chicks 2 anymore.
There’s no joy to derive from punching up against comedic titans like the Wayans brothers, though it’s not like they’ve done anything recently to warrant otherwise. As much as both I and the Wayans brothers hate to admit it, it’s not 2016 anymore. It’s 2026, we don’t need to see references to Vines (remember that?) from God-knows how long ago. I’m not expecting semi-deep-cut references to Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy or anything, though I would’ve preferred more jokes about movies and less bemoaning about “wokeness.” I’m fine with my generation being the butt of the joke (Ari Aster’s Eddington proves that we somewhat deserve it), though there’s a fine line between good humor and lazy regurgitation. Call me a “wokescold,” but maybe it’s time we hang this whole ordeal up.