Not Another Teen Movie (2001) - Gallen's hilarious youth movie spoof

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A group of loud-looking teen characters clutter this poster for Joel Gallen's Not Another Teen Movie

At John Hughes High School the school's #1 hunk makes a bet: That the school's worst-looking girl Janey can be transformed into the prom queen in a short amount of time!

Not Another Teen Movie is written by Mike Bender (Mission: Improbable (2000, TV short)), Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson (Extreme Movie (2008), both), Phil Beauman and Buddy Johnson (Scary Movie (2000), both) and directed by great American filmmaker, debuting Joel Gallen (Top of the Pops (1987, TV show)).

It is a surprisingly successful spoof of American teen movies of the preceding two decades; especially John Hughes' movies, but also the latest teen hits get a serving of amicable ridicule here. The style is low-brow and doesn't shy away from an exploding toilet scene, a babe who's topless throughout the film and so on. Yet it remains affectionate and is loaded with promising stars to-be in very engaged and uniformly overacted, charming performances: Chris Evans (Snowpiercer (2013)), Jaime Pressly (6 Months Rule (2011)), Eric Christian Olsen (License to Wed (2007)) and others are splendid, and Randy Quaid (Kingpin (1996)) is fantastic as Janey's alcoholic father.

 

Watch a funny 1-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 15 mil. $

Box office: 66.4 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.42 times its cost)

[Not Another Teen Movie premiered 7 December (USA) and runs 89 minutes. The film reportedly spoofs at least 44 different movies. Shooting took place from February - April 2001 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Vanilla Sky and holdover hit Ocean's Eleven, to a 12.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 38.2 mil. $ (57.5 %). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 5.3 mil. $ (8 %) and France with 4.2 mil. $ (6.3 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches under this one. Gallen hasn't made a theatrical feature since but has instead been busy directing and producing especially TV specials but also TV movies, shorts and documentaries. Evans returned in 2 TV credits and a short prior to his theatrical return in The Perfect Score (2004); Chyler Leigh (Supergirl (2015-21)), who plays Janey, in 9 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in Brake (2012); and Pressly in Survival Island (2002). Not Another Teen Movie is rotten at 30 % with a 4.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Not Another Teen Movie?

Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) - Laugh your pants off

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+ Best Big Hit Movie of the Year + Best Spoof of the Year  

 

Star Sheen fires off a shocked rooster from a bow on this dead-pan hilarious poster for Jim Abrahams' Hot Shots! Part Deux

Harley Topper has gone into exile somewhere in Asia, but he is brought back home to the States for an important mission: Save the soldiers, who were supposed to save some American hostages of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but who has instead also been taken hostages themselves.

 

Hot Shots! Part Deux is written by co-writer/co-producer Pat Proft (Ringo (1978, TV-movie)) and great Wisconsinite filmmaker, co-writer/director Jim Abrahams (Airplane! (1980)). It is the sequel to the pair's huge hit Hot Shots! (1991).

This comedy hits the mark: One almost cries out in laughter, and everything just seems tighter than in the already hilarious first film: The gags, the references, the guest appearances (including Rowan Atkinson (The Lion King (1994))!) and the howlingly funny scenes. Charlie Sheen (Scary Movie 3 (2003)) is a riot in Hot Shots! Part Deux.

 

Related posts:

Jim Abrahams: 1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Hot Shots! (1991) - Abrahams and Co. present another rip-roaring spoof comedy

Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Airplane! (1980) - The deadpan/spoof/crazy-comedy classic!

 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the movie here

 

Cost: 25 mil. $

Box office: 133.7 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 5.34 times its cost)

[Hot Shots! Part Deux was released 21 May (USA) and runs 86 minutes. Sheen was paid 4 mil. $ for his performance, and worked out voraciously to beef up for the part. Shooting took place from October 1992 - January 1993 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #2, behind Sliver, to a 10.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#5-#5), grossing 38.9 mil. $ (29.1 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Abrahams returned with An Introduction to the Ketogenic Diet (1994, video documentary), ...First Do No Harm (1997, TV movie) and theatrically with Mafia! (1998). Sheen returned in Deadfall (1993). Hot Shots! Part Deux is rotten at 56 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hot Shots! Part Deux?

Hot Shots! (1991) - Abrahams and Co. present another rip-roaring spoof comedy

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A simple poster for Jim Abrahams' Hot Shots! which promises, hilariously, 'the mother of all movies!'

Topper Harley has a complex due to his father, Buzz's fatal jet plane accident, but once the US Navy require him back in duty, he can only respond in the positive. - But it turns out that there's something amiss in the US military...

 

Hot Shots! is written by Pat Proft (Mary (1978, TV-series)) and great Wisconsinite filmmaker, co-writer/director Jim Abrahams (Airplane! (1980)).

Charlie Sheen (Bad Day on the Block (1997)) is best here in the scenes in which you feel he is riffing comedically and not only playing what's in the (already funny) script. Lloyd Bridges (The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962-63)) is certainly also hilarious as the mad admiral, on-par with the master of dead-pan laughs, Leslie Nielsen. Jon Cryer (Weather Girl (2009)) has a funny minor role as a pilot nicknamed Dead Meat.

Hot Shots! is totally nuts. It is crammed full of gags, many of which don't provoke laughs; but those that do incite uproarious laughter. Hot Shots! is simply a funny comedy, end of story.

 

Related posts:

Jim Abrahams: Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Airplane! (1980) - The deadpan/spoof/crazy-comedy classic! 
 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 26 mil. $

Box office: 181 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.96 times its cost)

[Hot Shots! premiered 26 July (Los Angeles) and runs 84 minutes. Shooting took place from January - April 1991 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 10.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it held on to the #1 position for another 3 weekends and then spent a further 3 in the top 5 (#4-#4-#5), grossing 69.4 mil. $ (38.3 % of the total gross). The success sparked sequel Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), again by Abrahams and starring Sheen. This was Abrahams' return. Sheen first returned in Loaded Weapon 1 (1993). Hot Shots! is fresh at 84 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hot Shots!?

Galaxy Quest (1999) - Conventions restrain Parisot's SF convention satire

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A space exploration shoots out of a giant TV set in space on this poster for Dean Parisot's Galaxy Quest

The stars of Star Trek-reminiscent sci-fi TV-series Galaxy Quest are worn down, when they get abducted by actual aliens, who wrongfully assess them to be actual space heroes.

 

Galaxy Quest is written by David Howard (Trek: The Movie (2018)) and Robert Gordon (Men in Black II (2002)) and directed by Dean Parisot (Home Fries (1998)).

The very funny premise is not translated into enough laughs in this witty space outing. Instead of leading the characters into some really grotesque scenes and some madness, Galaxy Quest sticks to corny, personal developments and its sci-fi plot, which runs out of motivation, when the space-locked stars get detailed survival advice from their cute teenage fanboy on earth (debuting Justin Long (Comet (2014))). Galaxy Quest is also visibly impressed with its own CGI effects, which feels dated.

Sigourney Weaver (You Again (2010)) is wasted in a bra. But there is some fun to be had in Galaxy Quest.

 

Related post:

 

Dean Parisot: Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) - Powerhouses Carrey and Leoni buoy Parisot's uneven farce

 

 

Watch  a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 45 mil. $

Box office: 90.6 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.01 times its cost)

[Galaxy Quest was released 23 December (Canada) and runs 102 minutes. Harold Ramis was initially slated to direct but left due to lack of belief in Tim Allen (Toy Story 2 (1999)) as a lead. Allen was paid 2 mil. $ for his performance in the film. Shooting took place from April - August 1999 in Utah and California, including Los Angeles. The film opened #7 to a 7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent a weekend at #5 two weeks later and grossed 71.5 mil. $ (78.9 % of the total gross). DreamWorks' CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly apologized personally to Parisot for failing to market the film properly. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to two notches over this one. Sequel talks have been persistent but have not resulted in anything. Parisot returned with 4 TV credits prior to his theatrical return, Fun with Dick and Jane (2005). Allen returned in Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001); Weaver in Company Man (2000); and Alan Rickman (Love Actually (2003)) with a voice performance in A Fish Tale (2000), then in Texas: In Demand (2000, video short) and with a physical theatrical performance in Blow Dry (2001). Galaxy Quest is certified fresh at 90 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Galaxy Quest?

Get Smart (2008) - Segal presents another commercially mandated rehash

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Steve Carell's tie flies in the face of his agent colleague Anne Hathaway on this amusing poster for Peter Segal's Get Smart

Our hero Maxwell Smart of top secret US intelligence agency CONTROL goes into active field duty, - his big dream - to fight the head honcho of terror organization KAOS.

 

Get Smart is written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember (Epic (2013), both), based on the same-titled 1965-70 TV-series by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and directed by Peter Segal (Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)).

It is a calculated studio attempt to see whether (Mel) Brooksian comedy can be remade successfully, which in this case, however, also needs to function as action ... The result is a film that just doesn't take off despite the well-meaning efforts of its cast. Weak direction and a weaker script seem to be to blame.

The entire rehash is in some way too retrospective; partially set in Russia, and too obsessed with incorporating gags and details from the TV-series, which will be unknown to most audiences in 2008 and henceforth.

Steve Carell (Bewitched (2005)) is no Leslie Nielsen or Peter Sellers, leading men in the specific brand of duck-brained lawman spoof subgenre revisited here, but he does make Get Smart cheerful in his own dopey way.

 

Related post:

 

Peter Segal: The Longest Yard (2005) - A few laughs register in shallow, overlong MTV-produced sports comedy remake

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 80 mil. $

Box office: 230.6 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.88 times its cost)

[Get Smart opened 19 June (South Korea + 7 other markets) and runs 110 minutes. Anne Hathaway (The Intern (2015)) was paid 5 mil. $ for her performance. Shooting took place from March - June 2007 in Moscow, Russia, Québec, including Montreal, Washington DC and in California, including Los Angeles. The film opened #1 to a 38.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#3-#4) and grossed 130.3 mil. $ (56.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 14.1 mil. $ (6.1 %) and Mexico with 10.4 mil. $ (4.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches higher than this one. The film reportedly made in excess of 36.5 mil. $ on domestic DVD sales alone. Sequel plans never came to fruition. Segal returned with In Security (2010, TV movie) and Prodigy Bully (2012, TV movie) and theatrically with Grudge Match (2013). Carell returned in Date Night (2010); Hathaway in Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008, video spin-off) and theatrically in Rachel Getting Married (2008). Get Smart is rotten at 51 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Get Smart? 

Superhero Movie (2008) - Some light spots in subpar spoof

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Familiar spoof stars and a couple of new faces adjoin on this Scary Movie-franchise poster-modeled poster for Craig Mazin's Superhero Movie

Young Rick Riker is bitten during a high school trip by a dragonfly and attains superpowers, which he uses to attract the girl he is eyeing and fight the evil Hourglass Man!

Superhero Movie is written and directed by Craig Mazin (The Specials (2000)). It doesn't begin very well with some scenes in a school bus, and the ending is also pretty shabby.
A good deal of the spoof comedy's antics fall flat to the ground, and a good deal should simply have been funnier, - such as a scene with Tracy Morgan (Deep in the Valley (2009)) as X-Men's Dr. Xavier as well as Regina Hall (When the Bough Breaks (2016)) and Pamela Anderson (Home Improvement (1991-97)), which certainly had the potential.
Superhero Movie still has laughs for undiscriminating spoof lovers; they come from Leslie Nielsen (Day by Day (1988, TV-series)), Christopher McDonald (My Sexiest Year (2007)), who does well as the predictably ridiculous Hourglass Man villain, and from young Drake Bell (Jungle Shuffle (2014)) and Sara Paxton (Pepper Dennis (2006, TV-series)) as protagonist Riker and his blond flame Jill Johnson. Both are game and well-cast.
Superhero Movie's running time is buffed grotesquely with an extremely long gag reel and extra scene-crammed credit sequence.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 35 mil. $
Box office: 71.2 mil. $
= Flop (returned 2.03 times its cost)
[Superhero Movie premiered 27 March (Russia) and runs 86 minutes. David Zucker was originally supposed to have directed the film under the title Superhero!. Shooting took place around September 2007 in Vancouver, British Colombia, California and in Kansas City, Missouri, where the New York flyover transition shots were made. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release 21 and holdover hit Horton Hears a Who, to a 9.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week and grossed 25.8 mil. $ (36.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 5.5 mil. $ (7.7 %) and the UK with 5.3 mil. $ (7.4 %). Mazin has left directing alone since the film and turned to writing several successful movies and miniseries Chernobyl (2019). Bell returned in College (2008); Paxton in Wizards of Waverly Place (2008, TV-series short) and theatrically in The Last House on the Left (2009); McDonald in Player 5150 (2008). Superhero Movie is rotten at 17 % with a 3.64/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Superhero Movie?

Hot Rod (2007) - Samberg and Schaffer arrive with amiable stunt comedy

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+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year

Andy Samberg strikes a fearless pose on this pretty rad poster for Akiva Schaffer's Hot Rod

Rod wants to earn the love of his stepfather - and then beat his ass - by jumping over 15 buses on his motorbike. - The ultimate jump!

Hot Rod is written by Pam Brady (Hamlet 2 (2008)) and directed by theatrically debuting Akiva Schaffer (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)).
Andy Samberg (Major Lazer (2015), TV-series) isn't as funny as the protagonist as Will Ferrell might have been, (the movie was written with him in mind originally), but he is many times easier on the eye, and he really works for his laughs here. He is teamed up with an enthusiastic cast that includes Bill Hader (The Angry Birds Movie (2016)), Danny McBride (Eastbound & Down (2009-13)), Sissy Spacek (Gray Matters (2006)) and Ian McShane (Columbo (1990), TV-series). They all help make Hot Rod a funny film. It features a lot of stunts and some hysterical comedy.

Related post:

2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 25.3 mil. $
Box office: 14.3 mil. $
= Huge flop (0.56 times the cost)
[Hot Rod was released 3 August (USA) and runs 88 minutes. The film was in development for years at Paramount as a Ferrell vehicle, which never came to fruition. After Samberg's Lonely Island music-comedy group were hired to SNL in 2005, the film changed direction to suit them instead. Shooting took place in British Columbia, Canada, including Vancouver, from July - September 2006. The film opened and peaked #9 to a 5.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 13.9 mil. $ (97.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 163k $ (1.1 %) and United Arab Emirates with 84k $ (0.6 %). Roger Ebert agreed with this review in giving the film a 3/4 star review. Hot Rod sold in excess of 24 mil. $ worth of copies on the North American home video market, which, if added into its theatrical gross, would change its status to that of merely a 'big flop'. Schaffer returned with several episodes of SNL and Lonely Island video shorts en masse before he returned to cinemas with The Watch (2012). Samberg returned theatrically in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008). Hot Rod is rotten at 40 % with a 4.9/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hot Rod?

Black Dynamite (2009) - Sanders, White and Minns' funny, enthusiastic, imperfect blaxploitation spoof

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An expertly 1970s-styled poster for Scott Sanders's Black Dynamite

Black Dynamite is out to clean up his neighborhood and punish the ones who are responsible for the killing of his brother. Clues lead him all the way to the highest office in society!

Black Dynamite is a funny blaxpoitation spoof action comedy, which presents a probable plot from one of the 1970s films it pokes fun at (such as Super Fly (1972) and Black Caesar (1973)) slightly eschewed, amping up the effects, character types and technical defects in the filmmaking. It is done with enthusiasm, and especially the dialog is often hilarious. Michael Jai White (Chocolate City (2015)) is a perfect, and very handsome, fit as the title hero.
The story is thrown together in a slipshod manner, and from around the middle of the movie going forward, it really doesn't have much left in its bag for us, regrettably.
Black Dynamite is written by star-co-writer White, Byron Minns (Death Merchants (1991), actor) and co-writer-director Scott Sanders (Aztec Warrior (2016)).

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2.9 mil. $
Box office: 296k $
= Mega-flop
[Black Dynamite premiered 18 January (Sundance) and runs 84 minutes. The film is based on an idea White got in 2006 while watching blaxploitation films. The film was shot on 16 mm Kodak stock, later converted digitally for editing, in 20 days in June 2008. Sony bought the distribution rights for, reportedly, nearly 2 mil. $ - a poor bargain for them. The film opened #35 in 70 theaters to a 131k $ first weekend in North America, closing after its second week there with a 242k $ gross (81.8 % of the total gross). It was released in only 3 other markets. The 2nd and 3rd biggest were France with 33k $ (11.1 %) and United Arab Emirates with 17k $ (5.7 %). Despite counting as a mega-flop theatrically, the movie likely made money on TV rights,  DVD sales and through VoD. Roger Ebert awarded the film 3/4 stars, equal to a notch better than this review. A spin-off animated series with a same title was created for Adult Swim, which ran in 2 seasons from 2011-15. Black Dynamite is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Black Dynamite?

Epic Movie (2007) - Friedberg/Seltzer deliver the tasteless fun

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+ Most Under-appreciated Movie of the Year + Best Low-brow Movie of the Year

A simple and very silly-looking poster for Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's Epic Movie

Four unrelated orphans find each other with four golden tickets and venture through a wardrobe that's really a trap into a cold world, which is ruled by a tyrannical white bitch!

- She is played with usual comical panache by Jennifer Coolidge (The Jack of Spades (2010)). Epic Movie distinguishes itself by having lovely comedians bring their chops to the spoof: Besides Coolidge there's Fred Willard (Max Rose (2013)), who is priceless as a randy half-lion; Kevin Hart (Little Fockers (2010)) is a blood-thirsty albino, and Crispin Glover (Dead Man (1995)) is Willy Wonka. Darrell Hammond (Agent Cody Banks (2003)) is really funny as 'Jack Swallows', the movie's take on Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean character, Jack Sparrow. There's also David Carradine (Karate Cop (1991)) and several other stars and wannabees.
Epic Movie is full of babes, piss, vomit, farts and crap. Its pace is high, and although it is undeniably lowbrow, it is fun lowbrow and good entertainment for all youthful laugh-oholics, - especially if approached with low expectations. It is written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Vampires Suck (2010), both).

Related post:

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

 Watch a scene from the directors' previous film, Date Movie (2006) here, spoofing the legendary orgasm-faking scene from When Harry Met Sally... (1989). - If this makes you laugh, own it and go get Epic Movie as well, because it's for you

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 86.8 mil. $
= Big hit
[Epic Movie premiered 27 January (Australia and Malaysia) and runs 85 minutes. It was shot in California and New Jersey in and around July 2006. It opened #1 to an 18.6 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it fell to #3 in its second week and then out of the top 5, grossing 39.7 mil. $ (45.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 10.1 mil. $ (11.6 %) and Australia with 5.1 mil. $ (5.9 %). The film was axed by critics and today holds #42 on IMDb's user-generated Bottom 100 list, between Surf School (2006) and Alone in the Dark (2005). It sold in excess of 1 mil. DVDs in North America alone, adding another 16.8 mil. $ to its gross, (which, however, wouldn't change its big hit status if counted in.) Epic Movie is rotten at 2 % with a 2.3 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Epic Movie?