Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's latest foray into the beaten-up-and-left-for-dead genre of spoof comedy has resulted in ninety minutes of utter stupidity.
Their latest brain-dead brainchild of a film, the aptly titled "Disaster Movie," is a beacon of all that is worthless and beyond the point of saving in the entertainment industry. The equation may have worked for the self-proclaimed spoof kings in the past, but Friedberg and Seltzer, just as they did in "Epic Movie" and "Date Movie," have once again proven that they should have called it quits after their only success, their collaboration with the Wayans brothers on the "Scary Movie" series, ran dry.
Instead, determined to take bits and pieces of greater movies, throw in a few completely random appearances by pop culture personalities and mold them into a "comedy," the duo have trekked on, churning out piles of garbage. "Disaster Movie" is no exception.
The plot of "Disaster Movie" alludes to such recent films as "Cloverfield" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," as well as references to "Juno," "No Country for Old Men," "Enchanted" and "Superbad."
The storyline, if you're generous enough to call it that, follows a guy named Will (Matt Lanter) who suddenly finds himself trying to save the world after being told an apocalyptic prophecy by none other than Amy Winehouse (Nicole Parker).
From there, the plot basically disappears. Soon enough a host of overused Michael Jackson jokes are thrown in, and the scenes get progressively weirder (or stupider). To make a long and completely pointless story short, during one scene a man in a panda suit and a naked guy screaming "I am Beowulf!" run around through "Night in the Museum."
How Friedberg and Seltzer managed to create a comedy without an ounce of humor must befuddle viewers. Is it too much to ask for a "ha ha" moment every ten minutes? Then again, when you try to fit together a comedy by throwing random celebrity look-alikes into random scenes with actors who shouldn't have careers in comedy, horrendousness is bound to happen.
It's a calamity that a studio could actually be willing to fund a film like "Disaster Movie," but then again, if one thing is certain in the entertainment industry, it's that stupidity sells. "Disaster Movie" will probably go on to make a fair amount of millions, while quality scripts are overlooked in favor of the next idiotic film. But really, what's the point of watching an unfunny comedy about other movies when you could simply watch the other movies and not feel like your brain cells are being murdered in the meantime?
In the end, there are about one thousand ways to rip "Disaster Movie," but when all is said and done, bluntly put, "Disaster Movie" is nothing more than a grossly idiotic film made by supposed filmmakers who ought to do audiences a favor and never work in Hollywood again.
.5 out of 4 shamrocksContact Shane Steinberg at ssteinb2@nd.edu
