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Scary Movie 2
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // R // December 18, 2001
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
About a year ago, "Scary Movie" became a most unexpected success, racking up well over 100 million dollars as it took a biting look at the horror genre, satiring the teen horror genre that had been so popular for the past couple of years before slowing down. The tag line for the poster read "No Shame. No Mercy. No Sequel." That was, obviously, before they knew how well it did. Although I liked that the original poster line for the sequel was "We Lied", the sequel itself isn't half bad, either. Like the first movie, it attempts a "Zucker Brothers" style of joke-making - throw a ton of bits against the wall and several of them stick.
Several of the main characters come back from the original movie - even those who weren't too lucky in the first feature. There's lead Cindy (Anna Faris), Ray (Shawn Wayans), Shorty (Marlon Wayans) and Brenda (Regina Hall). New to the proceedings are Buddy (Christopher Masterson), Theo (Kathleen Robertson) and Tori Spelling as well as Chris Elliot find their way in. The students are recruited to spend a weekend in a haunted house by their college teacher (Tim Curry) and his assistant (David Cross).
The movie opens with a suprisingly funny parody of "The Exorcist" with James Woods playing the exorcist. Although Marlon Brando was originally scheduled to play the role, he dropped out after illness. Either way, I think Woods, with his sharp delivery and fine comedic timing, was probably the better choice anyways. Natasha Lyonne also does a fine, funny job as the girl possessed.
The rest of the movie is mainly a parody of "The Haunting" and "House On Haunted Hill" (with a "What Lies Beneath" bit thrown in), but the suprise is that some of the funniest parodies are actually of movies that aren't part of the horror genre. An early scene in the movie has a parody of "Save The Last Dance" that's incredibly funny. There's also a decent joke made out of a movie that was a joke to begin with - "Hollow Man". More of the original's amusingly sick and twisted humor returns here and, like all good sequels, it goes even further in that regard. "Scary Movie 2" is definitely a solid "R", like the original. Also in that regard, DON"T TAKE YOUR KIDS. I'm really getting sick of seeing parents taking very young children to movies like this. End of rant.
Anyways, most of the cast shows a fine talent for comedy, especially Anna Faris. There's something so entertaining about how she's been able to show a perfect blend of "winking" at the audience about the satire - that she's in on the joke - and that the character is really believing what's going on. The Wayans Brothers also are talented comedians and have some seriously hilarious moments, as well. Masterson (I think this is the one from "Malcolm In The Middle" not "That 70's Show". They both look the same.) also makes a few good bits out of a bit part.
The movie works best when the jokes feel spontaneous and original - such as the wonderfully well-timed "Last Dance" bit, but there are some other gimmicks that are good for a chuckle, but don't carry too far - there's a trash-talking parot, for example. The sum of all of the bit parts is mildly entertaining, but in a sloppy, fun sort of way - it occasionally works, occasionally doesn't during it's 80 minute running time. Most certainly could wait to rent this instead, but if you're looking for some gross-out humor, "Scary Movie 2" makes for an entertaining, if forgettable 80 minutes.
The DVD
VIDEO: Buena Vista presents "Scary Movie 2" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As for the DVD's quality, it's satisfactory, but not really remarkable in any way. The picture appears crisp and fairly well-defined throughout, although there are a few moments of apparent softness.
There are a few minor flaws here and there, but nothing particularly major. Light grain is occasionally apparent, as are a few little specks on the print used. I didn't see any pixelation, but there was a hint or two of edge enhancement. Colors looked natural and accurate, with no smearing or other problems. Not the most visually interesting picture to begin with, there's really nothing too exceptional about how it's presented here, either. Look for an oddly placed layer change late in the picture at 1:13:38.
SOUND: The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Essentially, the film provides the definition of "comedy audio", as there's very little surround use throughout the picture. The majority of the film is completely dialogue-driven, with the occasional touches of music in the background. Surrounds pop up for some slight music reinforcement or the occasional sound effect, but they remain silent for the majority. Audio quality was fine; the music sounded crisp and dialogue sounded clear, if a little rough at times.
MENUS: A hilarious animated clip leads into the main menu. There's also some fun transitions between menus and the talking parrot returns for the sub-menus, providing comments (some hilarious, some annoying) on the menu options.
EXTRAS:
Making Of: The first supplement is a fast and funny eight minute featurette that doesn't promote the story, but instead offers some interesting interviews from the Wayans Brothers and other members of the cast. They all talk about their approach to the comedy and what it was like working with one another. Well worth a view.
Deleted Scenes: This sections offers no less than 22 deleted/alternate scenes. Browsing through this section, there were a few funny bits here and there, but this is certainly one of those films that works best in that sort of 80-90 minute range and I don't think most of this material is missed in the final picture. Yet, a scene or two would have worked and I thought one of the three alternate endings was better than the ending in the final picture.
Special Effects Tour: This is a short featurette that gives the audience a bit more detail about how some of the film's practical and visual effects were achieved.
Here Kitty, Kitty: This is a very brief featurette that shows of the film's robot cats work.
Also: Another very brief effects featurette, a brief make-up featurette and a still gallery.
Sneak Peeks: This section includes trailers for other Dimension/Miramax titles, including some upcoming movies: Martin Scorsese's "Gangs Of New York" (full-frame/5.1), "40 Days and 40 Nights" (full-frame/5.1) and trailers for some already-out flicks: "Scary Movie", "Scream Trilogy", "Don't Be A Menace To South Central..." and "Senseless".
Final Thoughts: "Scary Movie 2" isn't quite as funny as the original, but it's an occasionally hilarious little goof of a movie that's worth a rental for those interested and a purchase for those who're already a fan of the film. Buena Vista's DVD doesn't provide anything exceptional in terms of audio/video, but there's some decent supplements.
About a year ago, "Scary Movie" became a most unexpected success, racking up well over 100 million dollars as it took a biting look at the horror genre, satiring the teen horror genre that had been so popular for the past couple of years before slowing down. The tag line for the poster read "No Shame. No Mercy. No Sequel." That was, obviously, before they knew how well it did. Although I liked that the original poster line for the sequel was "We Lied", the sequel itself isn't half bad, either. Like the first movie, it attempts a "Zucker Brothers" style of joke-making - throw a ton of bits against the wall and several of them stick.
Several of the main characters come back from the original movie - even those who weren't too lucky in the first feature. There's lead Cindy (Anna Faris), Ray (Shawn Wayans), Shorty (Marlon Wayans) and Brenda (Regina Hall). New to the proceedings are Buddy (Christopher Masterson), Theo (Kathleen Robertson) and Tori Spelling as well as Chris Elliot find their way in. The students are recruited to spend a weekend in a haunted house by their college teacher (Tim Curry) and his assistant (David Cross).
The movie opens with a suprisingly funny parody of "The Exorcist" with James Woods playing the exorcist. Although Marlon Brando was originally scheduled to play the role, he dropped out after illness. Either way, I think Woods, with his sharp delivery and fine comedic timing, was probably the better choice anyways. Natasha Lyonne also does a fine, funny job as the girl possessed.
The rest of the movie is mainly a parody of "The Haunting" and "House On Haunted Hill" (with a "What Lies Beneath" bit thrown in), but the suprise is that some of the funniest parodies are actually of movies that aren't part of the horror genre. An early scene in the movie has a parody of "Save The Last Dance" that's incredibly funny. There's also a decent joke made out of a movie that was a joke to begin with - "Hollow Man". More of the original's amusingly sick and twisted humor returns here and, like all good sequels, it goes even further in that regard. "Scary Movie 2" is definitely a solid "R", like the original. Also in that regard, DON"T TAKE YOUR KIDS. I'm really getting sick of seeing parents taking very young children to movies like this. End of rant.
Anyways, most of the cast shows a fine talent for comedy, especially Anna Faris. There's something so entertaining about how she's been able to show a perfect blend of "winking" at the audience about the satire - that she's in on the joke - and that the character is really believing what's going on. The Wayans Brothers also are talented comedians and have some seriously hilarious moments, as well. Masterson (I think this is the one from "Malcolm In The Middle" not "That 70's Show". They both look the same.) also makes a few good bits out of a bit part.
The movie works best when the jokes feel spontaneous and original - such as the wonderfully well-timed "Last Dance" bit, but there are some other gimmicks that are good for a chuckle, but don't carry too far - there's a trash-talking parot, for example. The sum of all of the bit parts is mildly entertaining, but in a sloppy, fun sort of way - it occasionally works, occasionally doesn't during it's 80 minute running time. Most certainly could wait to rent this instead, but if you're looking for some gross-out humor, "Scary Movie 2" makes for an entertaining, if forgettable 80 minutes.
The DVD
VIDEO: Buena Vista presents "Scary Movie 2" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. As for the DVD's quality, it's satisfactory, but not really remarkable in any way. The picture appears crisp and fairly well-defined throughout, although there are a few moments of apparent softness.
There are a few minor flaws here and there, but nothing particularly major. Light grain is occasionally apparent, as are a few little specks on the print used. I didn't see any pixelation, but there was a hint or two of edge enhancement. Colors looked natural and accurate, with no smearing or other problems. Not the most visually interesting picture to begin with, there's really nothing too exceptional about how it's presented here, either. Look for an oddly placed layer change late in the picture at 1:13:38.
SOUND: The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Essentially, the film provides the definition of "comedy audio", as there's very little surround use throughout the picture. The majority of the film is completely dialogue-driven, with the occasional touches of music in the background. Surrounds pop up for some slight music reinforcement or the occasional sound effect, but they remain silent for the majority. Audio quality was fine; the music sounded crisp and dialogue sounded clear, if a little rough at times.
MENUS: A hilarious animated clip leads into the main menu. There's also some fun transitions between menus and the talking parrot returns for the sub-menus, providing comments (some hilarious, some annoying) on the menu options.
EXTRAS:
Making Of: The first supplement is a fast and funny eight minute featurette that doesn't promote the story, but instead offers some interesting interviews from the Wayans Brothers and other members of the cast. They all talk about their approach to the comedy and what it was like working with one another. Well worth a view.
Deleted Scenes: This sections offers no less than 22 deleted/alternate scenes. Browsing through this section, there were a few funny bits here and there, but this is certainly one of those films that works best in that sort of 80-90 minute range and I don't think most of this material is missed in the final picture. Yet, a scene or two would have worked and I thought one of the three alternate endings was better than the ending in the final picture.
Special Effects Tour: This is a short featurette that gives the audience a bit more detail about how some of the film's practical and visual effects were achieved.
Here Kitty, Kitty: This is a very brief featurette that shows of the film's robot cats work.
Also: Another very brief effects featurette, a brief make-up featurette and a still gallery.
Sneak Peeks: This section includes trailers for other Dimension/Miramax titles, including some upcoming movies: Martin Scorsese's "Gangs Of New York" (full-frame/5.1), "40 Days and 40 Nights" (full-frame/5.1) and trailers for some already-out flicks: "Scary Movie", "Scream Trilogy", "Don't Be A Menace To South Central..." and "Senseless".
Final Thoughts: "Scary Movie 2" isn't quite as funny as the original, but it's an occasionally hilarious little goof of a movie that's worth a rental for those interested and a purchase for those who're already a fan of the film. Buena Vista's DVD doesn't provide anything exceptional in terms of audio/video, but there's some decent supplements.
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