“Scary Movie 2” is indefensible on every artistic and comedic level… yet I will still stand up for its fans.
Okay, I guess I should have written “on most artistic and comedic levels.” My disdain for the film caused some hyperbole there, because there is a lot wrong with this film. Yet I am still allowed to state my fan loyalty as a literal fact, because I was once in a position where “Scary Movie 2” fans like myself were criticized, and I had their/our back. I counted myself among them for nostalgic reasons. “Scary Movie 2” was a staple of my comedy diet back when I was a weed smoking undergraduate at Bard College in the mid-00s. My friends and I could quote whole bits by heart, including two involving David Cross and Chris Elliott. As such, when I interviewed Cross for Salon in 2018, my mind naturally wandered the 2001 blockbuster. He dismissed it as something he only did for the money, an attitude of condescension toward the type of comedy presented in that spoof movie. This, by extension, I interpreted as an air of superiority to the fans themselves.
First, his comment:
As far as “Scary Movie 2,” again, I haven’t seen that since I went to the screening of it, when it was screening, and we all did, it was like a party in the cast, everybody came down, and that was the only time I’ve ever seen [it]. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but it was the second thing that I did for money, and I made quite a bit of money, certainly…
“Scary Movie 2,” I basically took the money that I got from that and bought an apartment in New York. I was very happy to do that and I made quite a bit of money on that one…
And “Scary Movie 2,” I mean, it constantly comes up. People will see you and go, “Yo yo yo, you was in Scary Movie 2, yeah?” I just haven’t seen it. I mean, you remember it, and I do remember shooting it.
You may have noticed the arguably racist impression of an average “Scary Movie 2” fan. (I’m white, as are several of the friends with whom I watched “Scary Movie 2” at Bard.) We’ll get back to that in a moment.
For now, here was his answer when I asked for his opinion of “Scary Movie 2” fans.
I don’t [think about them]. Not negatively or positively, I just don’t even think about it, and at this point, I mean, I would say depending on where I am and what I’m doing in my day-to-day routine, I would say maybe once every four days it’ll come up, and quite often way more than that. Sometimes six times every day, you know, it just depends.
But I mean, I live in New York City, so then there’s more people to comment on it [as you] take the subway or whatever, and so I just don’t think about it.
He later added that “Scary Movie 2” fans tend to be “more urban, ethnic, younger — definitely younger — and again, sometimes you flip the script and it’s completely different. But for the most part, that’s usually what it ends up being.”
It may seem silly to quibble over a spoof movie, but I believe that entertainers should be respectful to their fans. Cross is a privileged man, both by birth and by virtue of his current station in life. This doesn’t diminish his talent or his work ethic, but merely acknowledges the fact that he is lucky to be a celebrity. It is also a privilege to be able to make people laugh. Cross may prefer his more obscure comedies or critically respected offerings to lowbrow, popular fare like “Scary Movie 2,” and it is perfectly appropriate for him to express that perspective. He can do so, however, in a way that does not implicitly disparage his fans. He literally owes them his livelihood; what’s more, he needs to remember that he is no better than them simply because his comedy tastes are different. One can be honest, even uncomfortably so, without being flippant or disrespectfully expressing indifference about part of your fan base.
Again, I write this as someone who counted myself among them.
In addition, his comments could also be construed as racist. Since I am white, I will refrain from delving into analyzing why. At the very least, that’s why I thought it was necessary during our interview to ask how he would describe a “Scary Movie 2” fan. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t entirely misreading the situation.
There is a kicker here, though. I’ve just rewatched “Scary Movie 2” and am on some level embarrassed by my support for it.
So much here is bottom of the barrel pandering at its worst. Most of its jokes involve cartoonish slapstick violence, gross out humor, juvenile perverted gags and out-of-date pop culture references. It is too broad and zany to take seriously as a story, which is mainly borrowed from the 1999 remake of “The Haunting,” although it parodies a wide range of targets. Very little is funny, and quite a bit has aged poorly. There are countless problematic jokes at the expense of the LGBT community, women and people with disabilities.
Yet some of it does work. Marlon Wayans was memorable and has a number of laugh out loud moments as the pothead Shorty. There is a great scene where the characters played by Anna Faris and Regina Hall illustrate why walking skeletons should never be considered scary. Some of the more misanthropic gags, particularly involving how people will quickly betray each other in life or death situations, are darkly enjoyable. There are wretched spoofs that have nothing to say about the genres they’re targeting and, thankfully, “Scary Movie 2” does not stoop to that level. It is bad, but has its redeeming qualities.
This includes those exchanges between Cross’ character (who can’t walk) and Elliott’s character (who has a deformed hand). The two men hate each other and find passive aggressive ways of mocking the other one’s disability. Because the performers are not disabled themselves, one can argue that it is in inappropriate and insensitive. Perhaps so: Yet Cross and Elliott are such gifted performers that the insult humor almost works as droll (if vulgar) repartee. The jokes focus more on word play than merely laughing at people who are different, which is a big contrast with the movie’s constant homophobic humor. The lines in the Cross-Elliott exchanges are so exquisitely delivered that they stand out as comedic high points, albeit ones you feel guilty about laughing at.
Rating the movie twenty years after its release, I find it mostly wanting and sometimes uncomfortable. Yet for all of its flaws, I still associate it with a fleeting and treasured period in my life. It has that nostalgia value for me. Plus the comedy cast does a great job… especially Wayans, Faris, Hall, Elliott and, yes, Cross. Say what you will about the man’s disrespect for “Scary Movie 2” fans, but he didn’t phone in his performance. He is part of the reason I can give this 1.5 stars out of 4.
If Cross ever reads this, I hope he will remember a wise monologue from the classic 2007 animated film, “Ratatouille.”
“The bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”