The Popkorn Junkie :: Scary Movie 3

Long live the spoof genre! That said, ditching the Wayans Brothers was the best thing Dimension Films could have possibly done. Their humor was getting a little played out, and kudos to whomever suggested bringing in David Zucker to take the helms, the creator of some of the greatest comedy classics ever created, "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun". Zucker has transformed a sagging franchise into a brand new franchise -- filled with his trademark obvious comedy that people love so well. All the while, "Scary Movie 3" still possesses that zest and appeal that made it so bold and raunchy, at times.

Anna Faris, as she did in the first two films, tries to carry this film on her shoulders, and she does it rather well. Her comic timing is perfect, and she is just drop dead hilarious most of the time. She and Regina Hall are the only original cast members that remain and, oddly enough, were always the funniest in my opinion. Here, Cindy (Faris) investigates mysterious crop circles that are found in Tom Logan's cornfield (Charlie Sheen). She also manages to watch a videotape and help the President (Leslie Nielsen) try to stop an alien invasion. Throughout, Zucker spoofs "The Matrix", "Signs", "The Ring", "The Others", and many, many more films. This film also stars: Queen Latifah, Eddie Griffin, Ja Rule, Jeremy Piven, Denise Richards, Anthony Anderson, Darrell Hammond, Peter Boyle, Camyrn Manheim, William Forsythe, Jennie McCarthy, Pamela Anderson, Macy Gray, George Carlin, and Edward Moss as the best Michael Jackson impersonator I have ever seen.

The success is this film is due to the great David Zucker. He has taken the three biggest names in spoof comedy (Anna Faris from the "Scary Movie" franchise, Leslie Nielsen from the "The Naked Gun" franchise, and Charlie Sheen from the "Hot Shots!" franchise) and thrown them into one hell of a funny premise and delivered the best spoof since the underrated "Fatal Instinct", starring the hilarious Armand Assante. I was rolling in the floor during some of these scenes (only because the nice people at the theatre who invited me for the early screening didn't seem to mind).

Rumor has it that Dimension greenlighted "Scary Movie 4" after the first test screening for this film, and that might have been a brilliant move for a production company that has been struggling a little this year. I don't know if "Scary Movie 3" will rack the same kind of blockbusters gross at the first films did, but that is only because most people probably think the series is dead. Not true. David Zucker has turned it into a brand new franchise, and it works on so many levels. "Scary Movie 3" is the funniest film of the year, and one of the best spoofs I have seen in a long, long time. Now, we just have to get Mel Brooks back in action.

-- Billy Ray ( 4 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

Other Junkie's opinions.....

Matt ( 2 out of 4 pops )

Plain and simple, another example of the trailer being much better than the actual movie. And when the hell are they going to stop showing deleted scenes in the trailers? Is this a marketing ploy to get people to anticipate buying the DVD? But anyway, the film is quite mediocre. The first two "Scary Movies" weren't exactly gems and were chock full of raunchiness, but they still had me laughing. This third installment has its share of laughs, but it could've been a lot funnier. It's directed not by Keenan Ivory Wayans, but by David Zucker (of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" fame). And one of the writers is Pat Proft, who co-wrote "The Naked Gun" movies. The minute I heard they were on the team, I thought to myself, "Now this movie HAS to be funny." As it turns out, it's the worst in the series. Most of the gags are stale, predictable and repetitive. Someone getting hit in the head may be funny the first two or three times, but imagine watching it throughout the whole damn movie! With the PG-13 rating, the film doesn't go for broke with the raunchy gags like in the first or second, but it tries to compensate for them with cheap slapstick. The cast is talented, but everyone seems to be there for the sake of adding star power. I saw it with a group of fellow college students, and they all went crazy whenever rap superstars like Ja Rule, Master P and Fat Joe would appear on screen. Charlie Sheen has proved in the past to be a fine comic talent (i.e.: the "Hot Shots" movies), but he's practically embarrassed to be involved in this movie. It felt like he was playing a caricature of himself. Leslie Nielsen is a fine talent himself, but after the "Naked Gun" flicks, he has been taking on nothing but thankless roles. This certainly is one of them. I can't say I hated the movie, because I was laughing at points. But it left me dry and very disappointed. I don't know when we'll be seeing a "great" parody again that doesn't depend on dull pratfalls to get laughs, but until then...go and rent "Airplane!"

James ( 4 out of 4 pops )

Now, I am a big fan of Wayans comedy, but even I was glad they gave the third movie to comedy legend David Zucker (Airplane, Hotshots, and Naked Gun). Scary Movie has a lot of the same characters (minus the Wayans bros), there's that Cindy Campbell chick (who is now a tv anchor) and Brenda Meeks (who is now a school teacher, hehe). One of the first things I noticed was that for each movie that was spoofed, Zucker used the same lighting scheme from that movie. I never remember this happening in the previous 2, Keenan Ivory Wayans kept the lightning scheme constant for the entirety of both films. Maybe I'm just not remembering correctly, but I swear I am. Back to Zucker, he hasn't done a pure spoof in a while now, but he is not rusty. This spoof rivals hotshots, airplane, or even the naked gun. And you don't even have to know he directed this, because when you see characters getting routinely and randomly hit with blunt objects, you know you're dealing with the same brilliant mind that brought you The Naked Gun. Scary Movie 3 is the best of the series, and I cannot wait for Scary Movie 4. I remember being horrified that they were making a third movie, but I am not horrified of any more additions.