Funny stuff, but PLEEEEASSSE get your minds out of the gutter!!!!

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2001)

I'm not going to totally badmouth "Scary Movie 2," because I admittedly laughed a lot. Of course, most of those laughs came in the first half. I felt the second half was hit-or-miss. My issue is ever since "There's Something About Mary" was released, we've been bombarded by these gross-out comedies! Every time another comedy is released, it tries to outdo the previous one in grossness. The writers and directors assume they're pioneers, because they just disgusted audiences to the fullest. Well, what they don't realize is what made "There's Something About Mary" and "American Pie" work was their sense of wit and structure. There was a certain sense of intelligence behind the grossness. Now, filmmakers just assume you can have a young man shoot a wad of...manly juice...in a female's face and that's going to get a laugh. That's mostly because these comedies appeal mainly to young people. And young people, in general (not including me, of course), will laugh at ANYTHING scatological! It's unfortunate, but true! I admit, I've enjoyed tasteless comedies like this, the first "Scary Movie" and "Road Trip," but I've never seen a tasteless comedy that I can actually regard as great. Some of my favorite comedies of all time are films by Woody Allen and Albert Brooks. Those are comedy writers/directors who know how to get laughs without even uttering the word "penis." Now, though I did enjoy the aforementioned comedies, there comes a point where enough is enough. Sure, the young ones are eating this stuff up with a spoon and they'll probably tell ya "Hey, get off our backs! Go watch a historical documentary, if you can't handle it!" Normally, I would say something identical to that, but there always comes a point where it's just too much. And "Scary Movie 2" displays every indication that we have. At least, release some ADULT comedies. In case the filmmakers forgot, there ARE IN FACT grown-ups/mature human beings who go to the movies. But how often do we see adult comedies? Almost never! I guess they feel that's not where the profit is, so screw it!
On a positive note, I think there are a few sequences in this sequel that were very well done. The James Woods/bowel movement scene is purely tasteless, but let's face it. There's a certain thrill in watching a serious actor humiliate himself like that, so this is your only chance to encounter Jimmy Woods taking an on-screen dump. I liked the parody of the Nike/b-ball commercial, in which everybody bounces the basketball to a certain rhythm. In this case, even the guy in the wheelchair joins in. The Wayans were pretty sharp in writing the satirical moments. Some other good ones are a "Gone in 60 Seconds" parody and one of "Charlie's Angels." Don't ya love it when they crack on movies that you absolutely loathe? Another scene I have to note is the Wayans' take on "Nightmare on Elm Street" in which Tori Spelling gives a b**w job to a ghost. That's an example of humor (as I mentioned earlier) with a degree of wit and structure. It's a very original idea (I can be wrong, email me if you can name another movie where a woman gives h**d to a ghost) and I felt it was used wisely.

One actress they should've deleted from the cast all the way from the get-go is Anna Faris. Though the film's comic timing, in general, is nothing priceless I felt she was totally off-key and her gags come off less as funny and more as...bad acting. She's a beautiful actress, indeed, but looks ain't everything babe! Chris Elliot is another one of those comedians who has good comic potential, but can come off as extremely obnoxious in a badly written role. This is an example of the latter. He plays an annoying butler with a deformed hand (was that supposed to be funny?). He made me groan a lot (especially in the dinner sequence), but I got no laughs. Shawn and Marlon--what were you thinking???
The crude humor begins to fade out in the second half, to the point where you just say "Enough already!" There's hardly a single joke that doesn't wander into scatological territory. We are also forced to sit through a recycled gag from the original, in a parody of "Hollow Man." Though many in the audience laughed at the outcome of that scene, I saw it coming (no pun intended). Most of the humor is pretty cheap, predictable and forced, so there are few gags that I can regard as priceless. I still have to say, the funniest sequence is the opening in which we're treated to an interesting rendition of "Shake That A**." The scene contains my main man Andy Richter (as you can probably tell, I was and still am a huge "Conan O'Brien" fan).
If you're seeking a bundle of dirty laughs, I can't object to purchasing a ticket for "SM2." As I said, my main dispute is the lack of variety among comedies today. I urge you comedy writers: Get your mind OUT OF THE GUTTER!!! JUST FOR ONE DAMN SECOND!!! Try it, it works. You can still be funny!
My score: 7 (out of 10)