Scary Movie 3.5 - Special Unrated Version

Rating PG-13 Formats DVD Genre comedy Starring Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Anthony Anderson, Pamela Anderson, Peter Boyle Directed by David Zucker Publisher Buena Vista Home Video External Links Buena Vista Home Video

Special Editions! Director's Cuts! Unrated Versions! The insanity of this current DVD trend seems to be unending!! It appears that every single film needs to be spiced up with some Special Edition that contains "12 minutes of never-before-seen footage" or a "brand new alternate ending". I honestly thought this trend was getting carried away back when MGM Home Video released the 3-Disc Special Director's Edition of John Woo's exciting but flawed Windtalkers. Alas, it continues and despite receiving a large majority of bad reviews, Dimension Films felt the need to release a special unrated version of Scary Movie 3, cunningly titled Scary Movie 3.5.

The history of the Scary Movie franchise is rather storied and complicated. Feeling the need to spoof Wes Craven's highly successful Scream series, producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein hired the notoriously comical Wayans Brothers. Big brother Keenan Ivory was set to direct while little brothers Shawn and Marlon were slated to head the writing team and star in the film. Scary Movie was released in the summer of 2000 and, despite mixed critical feedback, was a box office hit, making over $278 million worldwide. The Wayans team threw together a not-so-successful sequel the following year, receiving a huge bashing from critics and making only a little more than half of its predecessor (and from what I understand, the only reason people went to see this film was for the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back trailer that was shown beforehand).

For some unknown reason, a third installment was announced. This time around, director David Zucker, who, along with Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, brought us the comedy classics Airplane and the Naked Gun films, would replace the Wayans boys. Kevin Smith was set to write the script but was replaced by Pat Proft (Police Academy, The Naked Gun) and Craig Mazin (Rocket Man). Hence, Scary Movie 3 was released in October of 2003, it got slightly better reviews than Scary Movie 2, made almost as much as the original and did pretty well in DVD rentals and sales. So here we are with the "much needed" special edition!

The vulgar, gross-out humor of Scary Movie 3 is much milder than the two previous films. Sure, its still there but most of the comedy relies on silly, straightforward satire, a true trademark of Zucker and company. The Scream parody has been completely abandoned, making Gore Verbinski's The Ring and M. Night Shyamalan's Signs the main targets. Along the way, The Matrix and Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile get spoofed as well. So, does the change in tone and direction work? Well...kinda. The constant lampooning is both witty and wacky but it begins to feel old as the film progresses. However, the strongest point, in terms of comedy, lies within the films performances.

Anna Faris, the lead cutie from the other films in the series, comes off as adorably hysterical. This time around, she hits the dopey Cindy Campbell character nailed down perfectly. Her scenes with fellow Scary Movie alumna Regina Hall display great comedic chemistry. Charlie Sheen shows us that he is no stranger to the satire genre (Hot Shots anyone?) in his role as a caricature of Mel Gibson's Signs character. Spoof king Leslie Nielsen (what Zucker film is complete without him?) had me spitting my coffee out with his performance as the dim-witted U.S. President. On the other hand, former MTV VJ/adult film actor Simon Rex, while funny at times, comes off annoying and repetitive. Ditto for Anthony Anderson. Finally, cameos from Jenny McCarthy, Pam Andersen, Queen Latifah, Eddie Griffin, George Carlin and Jeremy Piven either add (or subtract) to the comedic elements.

What makes this unrated edition so "special"? I can't say it's the film itself. Although the dialogue does seem a bit more extreme, the additions are rather subtle and faint. I think only the biggest Scary Movie fanatic would be able to spot them. The true specialties of this DVD are the special features and there are aplenty! We get a very funny audio commentary from the director, the producers and the writer that definitely adds a kick to the viewing experience. There are over 14 deleted scenes, some which are from the original DVD release and some that are exclusive to this release. We also get a 25-minute documentary, a 5-minute "mockumentary", a 4-minute blooper reel and a 15-minute alternate ending (with optional commentary) that spoofs The Hulk and further adds The Matrix into the main plot. Top that off with a collection of sneak peeks and you have enough extras that will take you a good afternoon to get through.

Now for my final thoughts: For the film itself, it's not a classic but it is definite improvement from Scary Movie 2. While the film beats some of its parodies to death, the addition of Zucker and a "properly put together" cast make for some great laughs. As for the DVD: unless you find a large amount of special features to be an utmost importance, I do not see why owners of the original should go out and buy this. It's definitely worth a rental however.