Cast:
Anna Faris as Cindy Campbell
Charlie Sheen as Tom
Queen Latifah as Aunt Shaneequa
Anthony Anderson as Mahalik
Eddie Griffin as Orpheus
Denise Richards as Annie
Leslie Nielsen as President Harris
Regina Hall as Brenda Meeks
George Carlin as Architect
Pamela Anderson as Becca
Jenny McCarthy as Kate
Marny Eng as Tabitha
Simon Rex as George
Jianna Ballard as Sue
Jeremy Piven as Ross Giggins
Tim Stack as Carson Ward
Camryn Manheim as Trooper Champlin
Drew Mikuska as Cody
Darrell Hammond as Father Muldoon
Critique:
Scary Movie was one of the biggest US Box Office hits of 2000, and despite rather mediocre reviews, was successful in many ways, providing some of the best parodies since ‘Airplane’ and securing a new range of fans. Soon later (less than 6 months in fact), the Wayans Bros, the creators and stars of Scary Movie, made the fatal decision of taking advantage of such success, and created the no joke, bottom-of-the-barrel sequel, Scary Movie 2. The result was awful reviews and a place in ‘movie hell’. But that didn’t mean it was the end of the franchise, as when David Zucker came on board to direct, it became a dead horse resurrected.
Come 2003, Scary Movie 3 was released with more laughs than the two originals put together. This time around, recent successes such as ‘The Ring’, ‘Signs’, ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘8 Mile’ were strung together into a better plot than what could have been imagined. The secret to the success of laughs in Scary Movie 3 was the fact that decent films were put in the blender, unlike the majority of those portrayed in Scary Movie 2 (Hollow Man, House on Haunted Hill). Take as well an abundance of physical comedy as opposed to sexual and you have, although toned down to almost family-friendly, a much funnier film.
The departure of the Wayans Bros did cause disrupt with fans of the originals, but lead Dimension to recruiting better filmmakers (in particular, spoof genius David Zucker) and an all star cast. Although only two stars of the originals returned, those being Anna Faris as the ditzy Cindy Campbell, who now plays a news reporter, and her raucous best friend Brenda Meeks (played by Regina Hall), new stars signed up such as Pamela Anderson, Anthony Anderson, Charlie Sheen, Leslie Nielsen, Queen Latifah and George Carlin. Having such filmmakers and stars has led to a funnier and hence more successful film.
Although one may find it difficult to remember not laughing during the somewhat short-felt ninety minutes, Scary Movie 3 did have its weak points. Take for example, the 8 Mile parody. Instead of being genuinely funny, this scene was almost identical to that in 8 Mile, with the best laughs being given away in the gut-busting trailer. But for each miss that Scary movie 3 had; there were at least ten hits (joke-wise).
Bottom line:
Scary Movie 3 is what Scary Movie 2 should have been. This has been what many thought was a dead horse resurrected, and has enough laughs to satisfy anyone between the age of 13 and 25. Older ‘folks’ may find this a little hackneyed for their likings though, and the film does have one or two slow moments. But then again, this is not ‘The Godfather’, but this is the best Scary Movie so far.
Status: The funniest film of 2003 up there with ‘Airplane!’.
