Rebooting beloved franchises in the age of nostalgia has powered cinema for what feels like decades now so it was only a matter of time before the nostalgia bug bit even the parody movie genre and reintroduced us to old beloved spoof actors and characters attempting to both cash in on the trend and make fun of it simultaneously.
After unceremoniously having the franchise taken from under them, Shawn and Marlon Wayans return to helm Scary Movie 6. Anna Faris returns as Cindy alongside Regina Hall’s Brenda along with other familiar faces like Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri), Doofy (Dave Sheridan), and new additions like Anna’s daughters Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif) and Brenda’s twins Dei (Sydney Park) and Brad (Gregg Wayans-Benson).
The Scary Movie franchise is a comedy cult classic at this point so it had mighty big shoes to fill when competing against its own existing nostalgia. The movie does indeed have its moments both in its overarching use of meta commentary and humor, most notably its parody of Jenna Ortega and Mikey Madison’s Scream 6 appearances through references to more famous characters they have portrayed, and hilarious bits and references that reach their apex in a laugh out loud parody of Get Out and K-Pop Demon Hunters and another spoofing the recent hit biopic Michael.
These moments are too sparse and spread out however for Scary Movie 6 to fully live up to its hype and incredible marketing campaign. Like the original movie, the plot mirrors a Scream film, in this case Scream 6, and like that film features some decent commentary on the cynical nature of reboot sequels and how they work. The story in the film however is very slim which wouldn’t be an issue if the laughs were more plentiful to make up for it. The new cast lacks the comedic timing and heft of the OGs and the writing for the actors and characters we know and love is hit or miss, despite their fastball coming through in spurts. The movie’s climax revealing the real killers is one of the most funny in the film combining both its strongest comedic elements with its spot on meta commentary, but by then it’s too little too late. This feels more like a missed opportunity for something special despite not being a complete waste of time. Expectations should be tempered for fans of the originals, even if they would like to see it eventually.
Image: Paramount Pictures
