SCARY MOVIE 3

"She's scrambling my brain!"

The President

While investigating a mysterious crop-circle that has appeared in farmer Tom Logan's (Sheen) field, TV reporter Cindy Campbell (Faris) comes across a video tape. It is said that anyone who watches the tape will receive a phone call that tells you that you will die in seven days. Her friend Brenda (Hall) has already watched it and her seven days are just about up. Meanwhile on the Logan farm, strange things start occurring but Tom's brother George (Rex) wants to leave to pursue his dream of being a rapper.

Anything in the synopsis sound familiar? Scary Movie is back for a third outing and the good news is that the Wayans have nothing to do with it.

After two truly appalling films that for some unknown reason did reasonably well at the box office, the powers-that-be have mercifully taken the franchise away from the Wayans and given it to someone who knows parody, David Zucker. The man behind the 'Airplane' and 'Naked Gun' series removes all the excessive bad language and goes back to the parody basics, slapstick and innuendo.

The problem is that the film misses more times than it hits. Taking the Mickey out of everything from Signs, The Ring, 8-Mile and The Matrix Reloaded, the movie hits the spot so infrequently that you cringe more times that you ever laugh. It does have some laugh-out-loud moments, like the Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy cameos, Charlie Sheen slowly investigating his daughter's scream and the autocue fight but these are too sporadic in the mediocre script. In fact if you have seen the trailer, then you have seen most of the best jokes.

The performances are fine. Anna Faris does her best with a script tailored for her but that never really gives her character the chance to grow. Simon Rex tries again at spoof after appearing in 'Sheik if you know what I did last Friday the Thirteenth' and does really add to his comic potential. Anthony Anderson is his usual annoying self but does poke fun at his own on-screen persona. Leslie Nielsen brings abit of class to the proceedings as the paranoid President and Charlie Sheen eases back into old habits with a slightly underused character. Also watch out for numerous cameos from some well known B & C-list actors.

The problem with the Scary Movie franchise is that they concentrate on the movies they are parodying far too much. Films like 'Airplane' and 'Naked Gun' succeed because they parody the whole genre and don't rely on lifting entire sections from the movies they are trying to take the Mickey out of. This limits their appeal in the long run and it is just a quick way of cashing in on recent cinematic successes.

The Scary Movie films are for those of you who will quite literally laugh at anything. The third movie is better than the first two however but that isn't saying much as they where absolutely awful anyway.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is a good transfer. The picture quality is crystal clear throughout with no pixelation, even during some of the more frantic scenes. The sound quality is also good, emphasising the dialogue, which is a plus for a comedy film.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary from director David Zucker, producer Robert K. Weiss and writers Craig Mazin and Pat Proft
This is a very amusing group commentary that is sometimes funnier than the actual film. The group really do take the Mickey out of each other throughout as the scriptwriters point out the really big differences between the first draft and the finished movie. They discuss the casting and then make fun of the actors and lament about changing the ending and how expensive and time consuming it was to do so. This is a better commentary than the film actually deserves.

Deleted & Extended Scenes (27.05 mins)
Entitled "Call from Orpheus", "Tractor fix", "Rap Club extended", "Weather Forecast", "George burns stuff", "George and Cindy's date", "Cindy gets fired", "Rappers arrive", "Alternative ending" and "MJ hits Cody", these deleted or extended scenes all have optional commentary from director David Zucker, producer Robert K. Weiss and writers Craig Mazin and Pat Proft. The main highlight is the alternative ending that blends elements from A Beautiful Mind, Signs, The Hulk, The Ring and The Matrix Reloaded.

Making Scary Movie 3 (23.41 mins)
Director David Zucker, producer Robert K. Weiss and stars Anna Faris, Simon Rex, Charlie Sheen, Leslie Neeson, Eddie Griffin, Jianna Ballard, D.L. Hughley, Kevin Hart, Anthony Anderson, Ja Rule, Master P, Redman, Method Man, Macy Gray, Fat Joe and Jenny McCarthy talk about working on the third movie in the series. With behind the scenes footage and the cast and crew talking about working with Anna Faris, Simon Rex, Charlie Sheen and the legend that is Leslie Neeson, this is an amusing featurette that reveals how a parody film is actually made.

Making Scary Movie… FOR REAL (4.54 mins)
Producer Robert K. Weiss and stars Regina Hall, Anna Faris, Darrell Hammond, Simon Rex, D.L. Hughley, Camryn Manheim and Anthony Anderson star in a mock featurette were instead of the usual backslapping and promotion, they talk about what working on the movie was really like.

Outtakes and Bloopers (4.00 mins)
Watch as the cast fluff their lines, miss their marks and show that even legends like Leslie Neeson need more than one take.

Hulk vs. Aliens: Behind the scenes of the Alternative Ending (4.09 mins)
Director David Zucker, producer Robert K. Weiss and FX designers Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis talk about the creature designs for the ending that was never used.

OVERALL

The film might be very average but the DVD certainly is not. For a single disk presentation the amount and quality of the extras is very good. The commentary track is funnier than the movie and some of the deleted scenes actually work better than the ones in the final cut. For fans of the franchise (there must be some of you out there) this is a must buy and for everyone else, even if the extras are very good, only rent it if it comes with something free, like beer.

DVD

Scary Movie

Scary Movie 2

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2004