Written By Tommy Tracy
Let’s not lie here. We all know we aren’t going to get a comedy gold mine here. Parodies are very rarely good and I didn’t expect to be getting Scary Movie here (which also starred Marlon Wayans). However, I am excited to review this because, as unfunny as I was sure this would be, I really, REALLY, wanted to compare it to the film it’s making fun of, Fifty Shades of Grey, the absolute WORST film I have ever had the displeasure of viewing. They say you can’t compare black and grey. I disagree.
The film revolves around Chirstian Black (Wayans), a wealthy billionaire who received his millions by stealing from ladies in the park. Racist? Sure. Humorous? Actually, a little bit. He meets Hannah (Kali Hawk) and immediately “falls” for her and wants to make her his sex slave. It truly does have the same plot as the original source, but more exaggerated and a great deal of African-American centric humor.
Look, I like Marlon Wayans. I thought he was hilarious in the first two Scary Movie films and Don’t Be a Menace is one of the greatest films of the ’90s. But man, has he really lost his charm from that time. It’s no different in this. Did he change, or did I just grow up and can’t handle his idiocracy anymore? Probably the latter. He has his moments (much like he did in A Haunted House) but there’s nothing spectacular from him here.
The comedy is very hit and miss, which was to be expected. I did laugh a few times but I was the only one who did. Maybe it was because my theater was empty but the chuckles sounded extra hollow. I felt bad laughing at some things, mostly because the humor is ridiculous. This is very much a film made for thirteen year olds. Hey, I never claimed to be perfect.
So, was it better than Fifty Shades of Grey? God yes it was. Look, Grey is supposed to be a serious film and this film is not. This isn’t a review for Grey but, while this film is stupid and nonsensical, it doesn’t offend everything that film and feminism has strives to build for over a hundred years. Yes, this has “black” comedy, with a lot of offensive material, but it’s lighthearted. I never thought I’d see the day where I said a parody of a film is better than it’s victim but congrats to the Wayans’ brothers for that. It helped me enjoy the film more than I should have. It’s not a great film, and I will probably forget about it in a month but that’s okay.
