‘Scary Movie’ May Be Outdated But It’s Still Pretty Damn Funny [You Aughta Know]

https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3629517/scary-movie-may-outdated-still-pretty-damn-funny-aughta-know/

Scary Movie is a surprisingly well done satire and spoof and a lot of the reason it holds up today is because of the Wayans’ at the helm. Keenen was largely known on set for encouraging the actors to fully commit and just go big, inspiring confidence in the young staff. He took a big shot on Anna Farris, an unknown at the time, casting her alongside other lesser-known actors Regina Hall, Jon Abrahams and Lochlyn Munro. Wayans buoyed the cast with big talent, including his brothers who had become staples in the comedy scene, and Shannon Elizabeth, who had starred in many of the teen comedies that they were riffing on in the film.

Part of why the movie still holds up is because of it sticking so close to its source material, not spreading itself too thin, and while taking jabs at other pop culture phenomena of the time (such as The Matrix and the infamous “Whassup” Budweiser commercial), it mostly follows through the stories of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The Wayans’ were fans of the genre but also found humor in them and crafted the script off the idea of leaning into the very teenage moments, such as boys just trying to have sex and high school life with drugs and booze.

Sure, not everything in Scary Movie from then lands today. Some homophobic humor rears its ugly head, but the movie did a lot in the way of pushing for Black cinema. The movie was a mega hit, making $49 million opening weekend against its $19 million dollar budget, going on to rake in over $250 million worldwide by the end of its run. It was the highest rated R movie opening of all time and broke the record for a movie directed by an African American director. It launched the careers of Farris and Hall, as well as spawning its own film franchise (many of which I will cover eventually in this column) and a slew of spin-offs.

There’s a reason Scary Movie is still talked about and that’s because even if it is outdated, it’s still pretty damn funny twenty years later.