July 4, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adam Carter Rehmeier, Adam Shankman, Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Aparna Nancherla, Beth Fallon, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Carolina Caroline, Charo, Chris Parnell, Daniel Franzese, Drew Droege, Emmett Preciado, Evan Mulrooney, Ginger Minj, Guy Branum, Havana Rose Liu, Jack Reynor, Jai Rodriguez, Jerry O'Connell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Joel McHale, John Carney, Jon Gries, Jujubee, June Diane Raphael, Kyle Gallner, Kyra Sedgwick, Latrice Royale, Lisa Rinna, Malia Pyles, Marcella Plunkett, Mark Indelicato, Marty Lauter, Matt Rogers, Mayan Lopez, Michelle Visage, Misha Osherovich, Missi Pyle, Monét X Change, Natasha Leggero, Nick Jonas, Nico Carney, Nicole Richie, Nicole Sullivan, Paul Rudd, Paul Scheer, Peter McDonald, Power Ballad, Rachel Bloom, Raven-Symoné, Riki Lindhome, RuPaul, RuPaul Charles, Samara Weaving, Sarah Michelle Gellar, She's the He, Siobhan McCarthy, Sophie Vavasseur, Stop! That! Train, Suzanne Cryer, Symone, Tatiana Ringsby
CREDIT: Obscured Releasing/Screenshot
She’s the He
Starring: Misha Osherovich, Nico Carney, Suzanne Cryer, Malia Pyles, Mark Indelicato, Emmett Preciado, Tatiana Ringsby, Aparna Nancherla
Director: Siobhan McCarthy
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (Theaters)
Stop! That! Train!
Starring: Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Latrice Royale, Marty Lauter, Monét X Change, Symone, RuPaul Charles, Rachel Bloom, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicole Richie, Raven-Symoné, Michelle Visage, Chris Parnell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Charo, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Natasha Leggero, Drew Droege, Joel McHale, Guy Branum, Daniel Franzese, Riki Lindhome, Mayan Lopez, Evan Mulrooney, Missi Pyle, Jerry O’Connell, June Diane Raphael, Lisa Rinna, Jai Rodriguez, Matt Rogers, Paul Scheer, Nicole Sullivan, Angeria Paris VanMicheals
Director: Adam Shankman
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: June 12, 2026 (Theaters)
Power Ballad
Starring: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Beth Fallon, Jack Reynor, Havana Rose Liu, Sophie Vavasseur
Director: John Carney
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: May 29, 2026 (Theaters)
Carolina Caroline
Starring: Samara Weaving, Kyle Gallner, Jon Gries, Kyra Sedgwick
Director: Adam Carter Rehmeier
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (Theaters)
Okay, here’s my directive: catch up on my thoughts of movies I’ve seen recently but haven’t fully reviewed yet. For this roundup, I’m going to quickly answer the question: Does this movie live up to its title?
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July 3, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adrian Rawlins, Callum Turner, Chris Bauer, Claudia O'Doherty, Conner O'Malley, Edward Rowe, Emily Daglish-Laine, Eric Rahill, Francis Magee, Frankie Quiñones, George MacKay, John Early, Kate Berlant, Kristen Johnston, Maddie's Secret, Mae Voogd, Mark Jenkin, Mary Woodvine, Merrick McCartha, Nate Varrone, Pat Regan, Rosalind Eleazar, Rose of Nevada, Vanessa Bayer, Yana Penrose
A Rose with any other Secret… (CREDIT: 1-2 Special; Magnolia Pictures/Screenshot)
Maddie’s Secret
Starring: John Early, Kate Berlant, Eric Rahill, Kristen Johnston, Claudia O’Doherty, Conner O’Malley, Vanessa Bayer, Chris Bauer, Nate Varrone, Pat Regan, Frankie Quiñones, Merrick McCartha
Director: John Early
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)
Rose of Nevada
Starring: George MacKay, Callum Turner, Rosalind Eleazar, Francis Magee, Mary Woodvine, Edward Rowe, Adrian Rawlins, Yana Penrose, Emily Daglish-Laine, Mae Voogd
Director: Mark Jenkin
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)
Maddie’s Secret and Rose of Nevada are two indie flicks that arrived in American theaters on the exact same date (6/19/26) and that both lasered in on something very specific in my personality, and I think that everybody who reads my words should know that. The former, in which John Early writes, directs, and stars at the nexus of food-content parody and melodramatically open-minded storytelling is perfectly queer in a way that just feels so right to me as a big-hearted pop culture obsessive (who just so happens to be straight). Meanwhile, the latter is about a boat that inexplicably goes back in time, with correspondingly disorienting sound design. It’s a trip that I imagine I won’t ever stop fully ruminating upon. So now you know all that about me! And the more you know…
Grades:
Maddie’s Secret: 4 Recipes out of 5 Secrets
Rose of Nevada: 444 Roses out of 555 Infinity Nevadas
July 1, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Craig Gillespie, David Corenswet, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, Eve Ridley, Jason Momoa, Matthias Schoenaerts, Milly Alcock, Supergirl, Supergirl 2026
Super-must love dogs (CREDIT: Warner Bros./Screenshot)
Starring: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, Jason Momoa, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet
Director: Craig Gillespie
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 26, 2026 (Theaters)
The 2026 movie version of Supergirl indubitably disappointed me, but not in a way that made me super-duper angry. More like in a way that made me go, “Oh, well. You live and you learn.” At least she had pretty good taste in music. And I’m certainly glad I saw it in a theater despite the disappointment. Which in a way is its own sort of superpower, don’t ya think? Really makes you think, huh.
Grade: More Znore Than Zoar
June 30, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Allison Janney, Bobby Moynihan, Christoph Waltz, Despicable Me, George Lucas, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Minions, Minions & Monsters, Phil LaMarr, Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Zoey Deutch
The Minions finally made a movie! (CREDIT: Illumination & Universal Pictures)
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, George Lucas
Director: Pierre Coffin
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rating: PG for Incorrigibly Rude Humor and Unbound Comic Mayhem
Release Date: July 1, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: You might think you know everything about the Minions, but you know NOTHING! Well, not nothing. Just not quite everything. You see, those blabbering yellow pills (voiced as usual by Pierre Coffin) who are most famous for serving the evil mastermind Gru have actually consisted of multiple tribes over the centuries. And as Minions & Monsters reveals, one of those tribes played a major part in the early days of Hollywood cinema. That’s because one Minion named James is quite the visionary, and his Minion buddies Henry and the hard-of-hearing Ed are eager to collaborate with him to produce a monster movie opus. Fortunately, a veteran director named Max (Christoph Waltz) truly believes in them. Less fortunately, though, the film studio head brothers (both voiced by Jeff Bridges) are only intermittently supportive. So James, Henry, and Ed journey off on their own to summon actual monstrous beasts with the help of a miniature Cthulhu-type named Goomi (Trey Parker). That’s sure to guarantee some fabulous footage, but it could also result in a full-blown apocalypse.
What Made an Impression?: Cinema Paradise: M&Ms is hardly the first kid-friendly animated movie to feature references to the earliest days of cinema, but when the Minions are involved, those references skyrocket to another level. Saying “Bello” to the likes of Méliès, Casablanca, and the Lumière brothers guarantees that the culture clash combination is just as bizarrely perfect as chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas. And then there’s the Minion version of an iconic scene from Citizen Kane, which is positively transcendent in its potty-mouthed simplicity.
Pushing the Limits: Speaking of potty mouths, Minions & Monsters really pushes the limits of the PG rating in a way that I suspect and hope the rascally youths in the audience will fully appreciate. The comic mayhem features plenty of typical physical gags: the eye pokes, the clubs to the head, the vaporizations. But then they take it a step further with a beheading! And one film noir homage lets slip a bit of profanity that I previously thought was reserved for PG-13 or higher. I gasped, only to be immediately comforted by just how playful this envelope-pushing was.
Supporting Report: So, the Minions are of course as delightful as ever, but what about everyone else in this extravaganza? Well, the aforementioned Bridges and Waltz provide solid color to the 1920s setting, while Parker certainly goes for it as a dinky-voiced beastie. But the top non-Minion highlight for me would have to be an adorably strange subplot with Jesse Eisenberg as a robot and Zoey Deutch as an activist that answers a question we never knew we needed to have the answer to, i.e., what if The Day the Earth Stood Still were about the fight for women’s suffrage? We could use that same sort of energy when conquering similar real-world struggles.
Minions & Monsters is Recommended If You Like: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, A Trip to the Moon, The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, Bananas
Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Kaiju
June 26, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alan Cumming, Andrew Stanton, Annie Potts, Blake Clark, Bonnie Hunt, Conan O'Brien, Craig Robinson, Ernie Hudson, Greta Lee, Jay Hernandez, Jermone Ranft, Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Keanu Reeves, Kristen Schaal, Krys Marshall, Lori Alan, Melissa Villasenor, Mykal Michelle-Harris, Scarlett Spears, Shelby Rabara, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Tony Hale, Toy Story, Toy Story 5, Wallace Shawn
The 5th one (CREDIT: Pixar/Screenshot)
Starring: Joan Cusack, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Conan O’Brien, Greta Lee, Scarlett Spears, Shelby Rabara, Mykal Michelle-Harris, Craig Robinson, Ernie Hudson, Krys Marshall, Alan Cumming, Jermone Ranft, Annie Potts, Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Hunt, Kristen Schaal, Tony Hale, Wallace Shawn, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez, Blake Clark, John Ratzenberger, Melissa Villaseñor
Director: Andrew Stanton
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)
The most relevant part of Toy Story 5 for me is Conan O’Brien as the voice of the electronic toy/toilet training device Smarty Pants, both because Coco is one of my favorite funny people of all time and because I could certainly benefit from tips to improve my visits to the bathroom. So what I’m saying is, I would appreciate versions of Smarty Pants for all stages of life, with a trusted voice leading the way for all of us. To paraphrase a certain sheriff: Toys are for play, but tech is for everything, and by “everything”, that better mean everything. For your health! And for better friendships too, if only indirectly.
Grade: 8 Lilypads out of 10 Pants
June 24, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Colin Hanks, Edward Norton, Lucky Strike, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Rod Davis Lurie, Rod Lurie, Scott Eastwood, Seth Rogen, Taylor John Smith, The Invite
CREDIT: Roadside Attractions/Saban Films
Lucky Strike
Starring: Scott Eastwood, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Taylor John Smith, Colin Hanks
Director: Rod Davis Lurie
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: R for War Violence and Stark Imagery
Release Date: June 26, 2026 (Theaters)
CREDIT: A24
The Invite
Starring: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton
Director: Olivia Wilde
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Rating: R for Characters Opening Themselves Up to New Experiences Much More Than They Planned On
Release Date: June 26, 2026 (Theaters)
Arriving on June 26, 2026, we’ve got a couple of new theatrical releases with starkly different subject matter but that I somehow feel compelled to approach in a similar fashion. One of them is about something that I would never like to participate in myself, but is there something of value to be gleaned from watching a movie about it? Whereas the other is about something that certainly intrigues me even though I’m not sure if I would ever dive right into it with complete abandon, but would my opinion change in any way if I watch a movie about it first?
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June 16, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adrian Chiarella, Bill Skarsgӓrd, Davida McKenzie, Edwina Wren, Ewen Leslie, Faith Delaney, Girls Like Girls, Hayley Kiyoko, Hugh Jackman, Jade Croot, Jeremy Blewitt, Jodie Comer, Joe Bird, Leviticus, Levon Hawke, Maya da Costa, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Sarnoski, Murray Bartlett, Myra Molloy, Nicholas Hope, Noah Jupe, Stacy Clausen, The Death of Robin Hood, Zach Braff, Zamira Newman
CREDIT: Aidan Monaghan/A24
The Death of Robin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgӓrd, Murray Bartlett, Noah Jupe, Faith Delaney, Jade Croot
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Rating: R for A Decent Amount of Blood
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)
CREDIT: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Girls Like Girls
Starring: Maya da Costa, Myra Molloy, Zach Braff, Levon Hawke
Director: Hayley Kiyoko
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rating: R for Teen Partying and Some Language
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)
CREDIT: NEON
Leviticus
Starring: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, Zamira Newman, Edwina Wren
Director: Adrian Chiarella
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Rating: R for Disturbing Horror Violence and Some Sexual Content
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)
Welcome to all of you who just can’t wait for the Summer Movie Season! And also welcome to those of you who absolutely can’t resist the lure of the multiplex no matter what time of the year it is. If you enjoy reading about any and all new releases, well you’re in luck, because this is one of those times when I review more than one movie in a single post. They’re all set to debut in theaters on June 19, and their names are The Death of Robin Hood, Girls Like Girls, and Leviticus. They all promise to provide very different tones from each other, but they also all have one thing in common: none of them is Toy Story 5.
The Death of Robin Hood hands off the famous outlaw’s bow and arrow to Hugh Jackman, with Pig auteur Michael Sarnoski writing and directing. This is one of those revisionist takes that strips away the most recognizable elements of a very famous character, which is to say that this Robin doesn’t do a whole lot of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. So what does he do instead? Honestly, not much. This is certainly a movie that lives up to its title, with Robin essentially just lying around and making amends until he expires. In the course of his demise, he’s tended to by a nun (Jodie Comer) and kind of befriends a leper (Murray Bartlett). So it’s not totally event-less, but I still ultimately came to the conclusion that it took away the most interesting part of the character and didn’t really replace it with anything else interesting.
Girls Like Girls similarly lives up to the promise of its title, but in this case employing a strategy that’s presumably much safer for pleasing its target audience. It’s the directorial debut of singer-songwriter Hayley Kiyoko, based on her novel of the same name that was in turn based on her song of the same name. It follows the teenage Coley (Maya da Costa) in 2006 as she moves in with her dad (Zach Braff) following the death of her mom and finds herself spectacularly smitten with her new friend Sonya (Myra Molloy). You get the sense that this is the first time that Coley has ever felt this deeply for a girl, or anybody at all really. That’s the key to this movie’s power: the bigness of the feelings are contagious. We’ve all endured the struggles of uncertain love (no matter how queer or not queer), and we’re all looking for the support that Coley’s looking for promising that it’s all going to be okay.
We’ve actually got one more queer love story on the docket, although Leviticus doesn’t exactly offer much in the way of anything resembling a happy promise. Instead, this Australia-set supernatural chiller finds teenage boys Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen) spooked by an entity threatening to kill them after an encounter with a “Deliverance Healer” (Nicholas Hope), which is essentially the most evil case of “pray the gay away” that you can imagine. The entity takes the form of the person you’re most romantically obsessed with, so Naim and Ryan are screwed by any attempts at solidarity. Comparisons to It Follows are inevitable, but the despair I clocked has more to do with the geographical dispersion of Down Under. Truly, this is a nightmare worthy of the Outback.
Grades:
The Death of Robin Hood: 2.5 out of 5 Arrows
Girls Like Girls: 3.5 out of 5 AIM Messages
Leviticus: 3.5 out of 5 Doppelgangers
June 10, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Disclosure Day, Elizabeth Marvel, Emily Blunt, Eve Hewson, Josh O'Connor, Steven Spielberg, Wyatt Russell
What a day! (CREDIT: Universal Pictures)
Starring: Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel
Director: Steven Spielberg
Running Time: 145 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Disturbing Otherworldly Images and Somewhat Frightening Action Sequences
Release Date: June 12, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: For nearly a century, secretive government agencies have been hiding the truth about extraterrestrial visitors on Earth. Or at least that’s just the position of plenty of real world conspiracy theorists. But on the silver screen, conspiracies can be the truth if you want them to be! And so it goes in Disclosure Day, in which a fellow named Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is on the lam with his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) after stealing highly sensitive information and technology from the corporation he works for that could reshape the entire world order with its trove of hidden truths. That corporation would be Wardex, headed up by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), who would really, really prefer that all of these secrets remain a secret. Daniel’s journey is inexplicably linked with that of Kansas City meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who shares with him an uncanny ability to understand the out-of-this-world communiqués. They’re being guided along their path with the sage help of Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), a Wardex apostate who has converted to becoming a prophet for the cause of Disclosure.
What Made an Impression?: This Changes Everything: Look up to the skies. And now look all around you. Look within as well. Disclosure Day is a deeply spiritual movie, and it will absolutely compel you to evaluate your relationship with a creator, or whatever originating force is behind the universe. If there is a god, is that god the same god for us and any interplanetary visitors? This conflict is most clearly present in the case of Jane, who was a novitiate in a convent before she started dating Daniel. But it’s a matter that every character has to grapple with, and furthermore I suspect that Spielberg is excitedly rubbing his hands to discover how his audience will resolve this question for themselves.
Action!: Occasionally I found Disclosure Day to be a little too cornball and overwrought. But I couldn’t help but surrender to its highly effective set pieces, particularly a car chase that of course concludes on the edge of a cliff, as well as a death-defying railway encounter. Seriously, I’ll be wondering for ages how O’Connor and Blunt managed to survive jumping onto a freight train off a screeching car pinned against that train. And Spielberg still has a knack for slapstick in these moments, with Scanlon’s lackeys at one point turning into the Keystone Kops in the face of alien technology magic tricks.
Empathy: When full disclosure is finally achieved, it’s stunningly overwhelming. As the eyes of the world did their best to make sense of everything being revealed, a hush came over the theater, as we were all connected by something beautiful. This is the best case scenario for moments like this that flip society on its head. And Spielberg genuinely hopes beyond all hope that the human race can still pull it off. I am so grateful that this cinematic statement exists right now, though I wish the final reveal had more room to breathe. Disclosure Day ends with an ellipsis instead of a firm epilogue, and I suppose we must fill in that blank ourselves. This movie is thoroughly old-fashioned, sometimes confusingly so. But the more I sit with it, the more I’m comforted by the conclusion that it said what needed to be said.
Disclosure Day is Recommended If You Like: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The X-Files
Grade: 4 out of 5 Cardinals
June 9, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alison Brie, Camila Mendes, Charlotte Riley, Christian Vunipola, Idris Elba, James Purefoy, Jared Leto, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kristen Wiig, Masters of the Universe, Morena Baccarin, Nicholas Galitzine, Sasheer Zamata, Travis Knight
He-Man being He-Man (CREDIT: Amazon MGM Studios)
Starring: Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Charlotte Riley, Morena Baccarin, Kristen Wiig, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Sasheer Zamata, Christian Vunipola
Director: Travis Knight
Running Time: 140 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (Theaters)
The best thing about the 2026 big screen version of Masters of the Universe is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, that seems to be the biggest thematic takeaway as well. Furthermore, I would go so far as to argue that Skeletor’s (Jared Leto) greatest sin is that he’s a haughty blowhard. Plus, He-Man Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine) has a knack for making every room he walks into 1000 times more ridiculous without even trying. So it makes sense that when he and his allies emerge victorious, you can tell how much things are working out by how much everyone is razzing each other with cornball insults. And that’s the type of world I want to live in!
Grade: …and a Talking Cat Too!?!
June 4, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anna Faris, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Damon Wayans Jr., Dave Sheridan, Gregg Wayans, Heidi Gardner, Kim Wayans, Lochlyn Munro, Marlon Wayans, Michael Tiddes, Olivia Rose Keegan, Regina Hall, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2026, Scary Movie 6, Shawn Wayans, Sydney Park
Do you like funny movies? Lolol (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Olivia Rose Keegan, Cameron Scott Roberts, Savannah Lee Nassif, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, Ruby Snowber, Benny Zielke, Sydney Park, Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Lochlyn Munro, Heidi Gardner, Damon Wayans Jr., Chris Elliott
Director: Michael Tiddes
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Rating: R for Frighteningly Raunchy Humor, Getting Blazed All the Time, and Absurd Slayings
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: In a parody of Scream (2022) aka Scream 5 (while also incorporating plot elements of Scream 6, Scream 7, David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequel trilogy, Ma, Sinners, the Wednesday Netflix show, Weapons, Get Out, The Substance, Smile, the Terrifier series, and Longlegs, among others), Scary Movie (2026) aka Scary Movie 6 lets loose its iconic ghostface-masked killer (or killers). They seem to have a bone to pick with our old friends Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and the Meeks siblings (Marlon Wayans and Regina Hall). But this time around, the main target is the new generation, particularly Cindy’s daughters Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan, uncannily impersonating a younger Faris) and Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif) and Brenda’s kids Brad (Gregg Wayans) and Dei (Sydney Park). Meanwhile, Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans) is gallivanting around fabulously amidst all the shenanigans, while controversial media personality Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) fights to stay relevant. Yes, the whole gang’s back together and ready to have an unforgettable time, even if they already died and/or were previously revealed as one of the killers.
What Made an Impression?: Parody, Spoof Thyself?: I’ve seen most (if not all) of this Scary Movie‘s targets, so when I clocked the references, I wondered, “How will they make a joke out of this scene?”, only to then remember that the originals were often already pretty (intentionally) funny on their own. No surprise, really, as that’s always been this franchise’s m.o., with the o.g. Scary Movie ragging on the o.g. Scream, which had famously already satirized its own genre. So here we are again, with a rebooted SM coming out four years after a rebooted Scream and the same year as the third entry in that reboot cycle. There’s a tease about SM6 potentially going a little deeper with its deconstruction by introducing the idea of “Elevated Comedy”, but for the most part it settles for the most surface-level gags.
Milk, Fudge, and Lemonade: When the script (penned by Rick Alvarez and four Wayanses: Marlon, Shawn, Keenen Ivory, and Craig) stretches beyond the parody, it burns with the fervor of someone who has just discovered dick and poop jokes for the first time. Shock value doesn’t always equal humor, though occasionally those raunchy moments are bizarre enough to pass muster. Somewhat related: this movie is fairly open-minded when it comes to the full range of sexualities and gender expressions, as well as the potential for all of those categories to be ripped to shreds just as much as anyone else. Although, it’s perhaps a little too amused by the fact that queer identities exist.
Die Together, Kill Together: So Scary Movie (6) is decidedly hit-and-miss and deeply, deeply stupid. But I’m nevertheless very happy to see Anna Faris and Regina Hall reunited! The Wayans crew, meanwhile, aren’t quite the main attractions for me, but it’s nevertheless nice to see everyone on good enough terms to get back together for this silly shebang. And when this crew inevitably gets self-referential, it’s less groan-inducing and more “That’s right, you do you.” Boogie on, you clowns.
Scary Movie (6) is Recommended If You: Believe that the Comedy Hall of Fame should begin and end with the Wayans Family
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 References
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