DISQUS

Kevin · 1 year ago

The only way to stop them is to convince the studio to put more money into them so the movie becomes a loss. They make a profit because they cost a big mac and fries to make. I agree they suck. How can you spoof a movie that isn't out yet? The jokes are going to be generic slaptick. They worked on the writing team for all the Scary Movies. And they all suck for the same reason. South Park does a better job of spoofing what was actually funny about the movies.

Great White Snark · 1 year ago

Completely f**ktarded. Of course, I haven't enjoyed (or watched) a parody film since Naked Gun and Top Secret, so... it's not like I'd be giving these guys a chance, no matter what subject matter they decided to "adapt."

Personally, I think parodying Hancock is even more pointless than satirizing Superbad. Excuse me while I channel a valley girl, but: Ummm, helloooo! Hancock is already a parody! (And one that doesn't look particularly good, at that. Of course, there's never been a good superhero parody film: http://tinyurl.com/38comq)

Allynd Dudnikov · 1 year ago

Fuck these guys.

CMAC · 1 year ago

Call it kismet, Nathan, or just well-timed synchronistic outrage -- but I posted a similar rant earlier today on boxofficepsychics.com

http://www.boxofficepsychics.com/2008/04/02/fri...

Hopefully if enough of we movie pundits take a stand and spread the word our call to arms will be answered. These idiots need to be stopped, for the good of humanity.

Aaron Joseph · 1 year ago

Alright guys.. this time we take this one to the masses. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE: PIRATE THE HELL OUT OF IT. That way we can all critique.. review it.. do whatever the hell we want WITHOUT supporting the movie in anyway. Also, don't even give this movie lipservice.. download it and tell your friends there are secrets about Cloverfield 2 in the downloaded version only. They'll go do the same and see it for the crap it is.

Chris · 1 year ago

Kevin makes some great points, but left out the biggest one... by the time these films hit DVD (or even on occassion, the theater), their jokes are already played out and stale. 15 minutes of fame, pop culture crap, references date the films these morons make, but yet they seem to be winning formulas for some reason? Great for those fast food cinema watchers who just want to ingest garbage, bad for those who want substance and (dare I say) story and plot?

Look at the spoof movies of yester-year... Airplane!, the Naked Gun films, and even Top Secret!. Those movies are still for the most part funny today due to the fact the filmmakers didn't focus on making a reference to what's going on at the time. All these films are, are time capsule flicks. Tom Cruise is hot? Okay... let's make a joke about him, not caring if five minutes from now nobody will understand/care about what we're referencing. It's sad.

I'll admit, I did laugh at a lot of "Scary Movie", and some of "Scary Movie 2" (do I have to turn in my movie-lover badge now?), but those laughs came from things that DIDN'T play on the whole pop culture reference deal. That's why I didn't even bother with any spoof movie that came after it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go work on my script for "Internet Movie"... a feature length spoof about this post that will most likely go before the cameras in two years. I certainly hope the scene I wrote that takes place in an internet cafe where the two main characters discuss George Bush and how he relates to the Weinstein's deplorable treatment of the film "Fanboys" is still fresh!

Kevin Carr · 1 year ago

Personally, I'm curious about what the title will be... "Teen Sex Comedy Movie" or "Uncategorized Blockbuster Movie" or "Crappy Spoof Movie"...

the world is eager to know.

Cole Abaius · 1 year ago

I think the biggest victim here is Craig Mazin. The guy has a decent amount of talent - his humor isn't super high brow or anything, but it's usually executed pretty well. And when he releases "Superhero Movie", people automatically assume it's associated with the other crappy spoofs and, thus, will suck. But it was actually funny. Because Mazin understands spoofing.

He's posted as much on his blog about the difference between a real spoof and what Friedberg and Seltzer and their ilk are doing - which is just mimicry really.

Case in point:

When you check out Superhero Movie on IMDB, it recommends The Naked Gun, DEBS, and Spy Hard as movies you also might enjoy. When you look up Meet the Spartans, it suggests you try Date Movie, Epic Movie and Scary Movie 4.

Essentially, you'll only like Friedberg/Seltzer fare if you already like Friedberg/Seltzer fare. Of coure, Mazin wrote for Scary Movie 4, but we all have off days right? Hell, Jim Abrahams wrote for Scary Movie 4.

And the title will be: Comedy Movie. Just a guess. And the only way to stop this scourge is to let it play out until they make Movie Movie. Once you go meta, you can't go back.

Cole Abaius · 1 year ago

Wait...I just had another thought. What if Friedberg and Seltzer are spoofing movies that haven't come out yet because their plan is to spoof movies further and further into the future until they start spoofing films that don't even exist - at which point they'll be creating something original themselves for a change.

They are baby-stepping their way toward creativity, people! Don't impede their progress!

CMAC · 1 year ago

Craig Mazin’s almost (not quite, but almost) as big a hack as Friedberg and Seltzer. And his blog only serve to illustrate what a humorless, pompous dork he is. The ads for Superhero Movie were laughless; although admittedly not outright gut-wrenching like one of F/S’s turds. But if anything he should have benefited from the success of his slightly less talented peers.

Know who made great spoofs? Mel Brooks. Young Frankenstein was a spoof and it's one of my favorite comedies of all time. That what Friedberg and Seltzer do is considered spoof craps all over Mel's legacy.

tha plow · 1 year ago

the only reason these guys make a living is because stupid 14-year olds actually like this crap.

Cole Abaius · 1 year ago

Look, I'm not going to argue that Mazin is a comedic genius like Brooks, but there's a huge chasm between Brooks and F/S, and Mazin is certainly somewhere in the middle.

The ads for Superhero Movie weren't great, and Mazin - like most directors - probably had nothing to do with them. Chalk that up to the ad/PR/marketing department. But the movie itself was funny. It was funny in the way Scary Movie 1 was funny. And that's what matters.

There's two schools here. Brooks with high and low brow mixes and then there's everyone else. Young Frankenstein isn't at all the same movie that Airplane is. Who could get away with doing a spoof movie in black and white now anyway? Of course, I won't even dig deeper into the difference between a specific story being spoofed v. a genre being spoofed.

The point is, Mazin is more talented than F/S, and I feel like his box office probably suffered because the marketing department chose to piggyback on a meme that isn't actually drawing in that many fans. Like you said, if they had made a funnier ad campaign that didn't mimic Epic Movie, they might have appealed to a real audience.

Just saying - if you told me I was no Mel Brooks, I'd feel flattered just to be in the same sentence with Mel Brooks.

Kevin · 1 year ago

As far as what the movie's title will be, The current spoof cycle can easily make money without one. They can just mash together movie photos and not name the thing and it will be a success.

rick · 1 year ago

That's it, someone has to behead these guys for the good of the common man.

Szilard · 11 months ago

Well, hate me or not, I liked the Meet The Spartans. I agree, it's not the top of the comedies, but worth a look. Maybe even twice. Leonidas of the 300 was amusingly and flawlessly played. Other parts were a bit painful like the pingvin or the oracles - but overall it's fine.

The Epic, well I agree, it's less than sh.t. I saw it once and never felt the urge to repeat.