Growing up, I had a small group of friends that equally enjoyed the stupid parody films that would make their way on to our screens, we'd reference them often, rewatch them often, and generally just find everything stupid utterly hilarious. We rarely took things seriously, and much of our lives was essentially pop culture consumption through an unhealthy amount of video games, for the most part. I don't really talk to these people anymore. The distance created by time sort of got into the way of things, and I assume we all changed as the years were accumulated. These parody films, while terrible, have a little place in my heart due to the nostalgia they now bring, and I didn't quite realise it until I recently started to watch some of the films within this genre. Some of which I haven't seen for so long that they feel almost entirely new to me.
These parody films almost feel like a necessity these days. I mentioned in another post the other week that they offer the world a more relaxed glimpse of itself. A reminder to not take things so seriously and to laugh at ourselves. To enjoy the little things in life even if it is at our own expense. With the loss of these films as Hollywood shifted its interests, I do feel that we have somewhat lost an important reminder. A cultural impact that left the youth with references of pop culture that led to new discoveries in the arts, as well as a glimpse into the many things we all love and experienced together at the time. These parody films hold political references, film references, celebrity references, and historical ones. Each almost making their existence a bit of a time capsule that holds little stories of everything over the last few years.
I realise this is a strange way to look at films that really are just toilet humour and idiocy while copying things that did actually try to do something more serious and perhaps artistic. But the two ends of the spectrum seem so important to have in the film industry. Perhaps almost evident by Hollywood's now existing struggles to figure out what and how to create things as the superhero fad dies out and streaming services prioritise lengthy television series to justify subscription costs. This is to say that Hollywood needs the awful films like Epic Movie. It needs to be mocked. While Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer seemed almost primarily responsible for much of these films, nobody seems to be replacing the gap they left.
Epic Movie
Epic Movie is a film that heavily relies on existing films from the years before to tell its own story. A combination of film references that the characters find themselves roaming through as some broader narrative pushes them forward. This film, mostly copying the story of the huge Narnia films from the earlier 2000s, jumps between films and their most famous scenes while adding its own spin on things: the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film containing Johnny Depp, for example. These characters invited to the factory but pretty much murdered by Willy Wonka. One character running to the chocolate stream to drink from it only to be told it's actually the building's sewage. Much of the film is like this, just replicating big scenes from other films as it makes them utterly ridiculous one way or another. Sometimes this works really well, and the stupidity of the events and the characters makes it quite easy to laugh. Even with characters having more comedic spins on their names as to avoid legal issues as well as generate laughs. Though this reliance on other films and endless references doesn't always work out well.
Much of the film is pretty much light sketches, and they work for the most part. But it's easy for the film to get a bit too close to them as the short runtime goes on without there really being any story. This means around the halfway mark the film starts to get a bit more relaxed and dependent on the whole Narnia story, finding a way to begin trying to give the characters a bit of a challenge and call to action to guide them into the conclusion and end of the film. I noticed a bit of a drop in the attempts at comedy due to this, but every now and then I would find the film still managing to do something funny. Though I think I was more surprised at the pop culture references it made that I'm sure so few would get if they watched the film for the first time today, with a more recent birth year. Who is Paris Hilton? What the heck is Cribs and why is the film showing a scene based on this idea? A few questions I unfortunately have the answers to, but serve as a glimpse into some of the more dated humour that has the film really showing its age. Perhaps this is also the case for some of the films it pulls influence from, but I don't suspect that is really the case. It is more the random celebrities mentioned that are mocked that would result in some confusion. Still, I admit I was laughing quite often, even if they were essentially light chuckles.
Fortunately, this is a very short film and that makes it very easy to watch through without it getting boring or more likely annoying. I forgot just how short these parody films tend to be, though I actually liked this about it given it was something easy to throw on and get into knowing I didn't have to dedicate two hours or more to it. The constant jumping from film world and sketch to another meant things remained fresh with different humour and ideas coming each time. It was nice during the parts where it felt more relaxed to just joke around, especially since it's with these scene sketches where things are most stupid. Speaking of which, much of the cast seem far too old for the characters they're playing, but it seems highly intentional just to add another layer of stupidity to the whole thing. Middle aged Harry Potter and friends just being utterly weird around a regular school happened to be one of the film's strengths for me. Though much of the film despite its short runtime is actually quite forgettable.
I should add that this film is really bad. But it's the kind of bad that you'll enjoy if you give it the chance. Putting down the more serious stories and characters, or perhaps just seeing those stories and characters made fun of. It's certainly one of the weaker parody films but it succeeded in making me want to watch some of the better ones. And it was fun setting aside that more pretentious side of me that feels I have to be watching something deep, beautiful, and meaningful. All while allowing me to escape the more serious, lengthy series that have been consuming my time lately. Maybe I'm giving the film too much credit, but it almost feels like it's parodying the more successful parody films too, with casting choices that seem awfully similar to something like the Scary Movie franchise. With the female lead that speaks in a gentle tone, the stereotypical sassy best friend, and the plain dumb male. It seems like a trio that was often utilised in these films, and perhaps it is each film carrying from the other by copying, perhaps it's intentional mockery. I have no idea, but a slight observation I had.
Well, I'll be watching a few more of these terrible films soon. I just can't help it lately as I reject all seriousness. The exploration of some nostalgia is also quite nice to experience again. Remembering more simple times where I did laugh a bit more easily, and wasn't so picky over what I watched -- something I've been trying to combat lately.
