Scary Movie 5
By Jeffrey M. Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
This dumb, raunchy series should have given up the ghost.
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Scary Movie 5
Community Reviews
Based on 19 parent reviews
Horrible
What's the Story?
Loving couple Jody (Ashley Tisdale) and Dan (Simon Rex) adopt their three nieces, who were missing and finally found in a cabin in the woods; unfortunately, they've also brought along a mysterious entity known as "Mama." Meanwhile, Dan works at a lab experimenting with intelligent apes, and Jody has won the part of the Black Swan in a local ballet production of Swan Lake. Strange things continue happening, and Jody must venture into a cabin in the woods to find the "Book of the Dead" and the magic words to make it all better. But will it be enough to get rid of "Mama" before she destroys the young girls?
Is It Any Good?
If SCARY MOVIE 5 isn't busy lazily riffing on specific shots from its source movies, it fills in the gaps with the expected bodily fluid jokes, sexual innuendo, and stereotypes. It also throws in several cameos, including Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan in the opening scene. Only Snoop Dogg seems to be relaxed enough to get some laughs in. This is a big waste of time, drawing one more gasp out of a series that should have given up the ghost long ago.
The fifth installment in the Scary Movie franchise has been taken over by Malcolm D. Lee -- Spike's cousin and the director of the very funny Undercover Brother. The writers are David Zucker and Pat Proft, who were responsible for the very funny Naked Gun movies. None of that former humor comes through in this lazy effort, which smacks of a routine attempt to replicate those wonderful old MAD magazine movie spoofs.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Scary Movie 5's sexual humor. Who is that type of comedy intended to appeal to? Does it succeed? Is there anything here on that subject that can be taken seriously?
Is the movie actually scary? How can it use images from traditional horror movies and take most of the fear out of them?
Did you notice any stereotypes in the movie? Were they reinforced or dispelled? Is it ever OK to use stereotypes to get laughs?
What's the appeal of this franchise, which has been going since the year 2000?
Movie Details
- In theaters: April 12, 2013
- On DVD or streaming: August 20, 2013
- Cast: Anna Faris , Anthony Anderson , Regina Hall
- Director: David Zucker
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Black actors
- Studio: Dimension
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 85 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug material, partial nudity, comic violence and gore
- Last updated: December 17, 2022
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