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Meet the Spartans - or 2 references to reality shows for some reason out of 5
I went in to this movie expecting it to be one of the worst movies I would ever see. It didn't plumb those depths, but while it's no means good overall, it's not totally irredeemable. I found myself chuckling at most of the slapstick and scenes that make fun of 300 that have little to no pop culture references (more on that later). Queen Margo's infidelity, Xerxes' "piercing mishap," Dilio's haplessness and the slow-motion-replete battle that devolves into towel snapping and nipple twisting are examples of decent comedy. It helps that Friedberg and Seltzer were able to wrangle genuine comedic talent for this project. I'd go so far to say that Sean Maguire, who I also enjoyed in the short-lived series Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, out-acts Gerald Butler. Carmen Electra, Diedrich Bader and Ken Davitian also do not totally embarrass themselves and elevate the material as much as they can. I also give credit to composer Christopher Lennertz for how his soundtrack pokes fun at the Lisa Gerrard-isms in 300's soundtrack and without overdoing it.
I watched this movie on a free with ads streaming service. I checked out mentally during 99% of the comedic bits involving a celebrity or pop culture reference - I'll admit to chuckling at moments during the "pit of death" scene and Rocky Balboa fight - in the same way I did when ad breaks occurred, and this is not just because they are old. Don't get me wrong, I am not against comedy relying on pop culture references in movies like this one. The ones in Loaded Weapon 1, for example, still make me laugh when I think about them and that movie is even older than this one. The problem with this movie's is that vast majority of them have so little wit that they merely amount to reminding you that what it's referencing exists and of the year when the movie came out, not to mention make you wonder if the directors added them just to pad the already slim runtime. To make matters worse, it's as if there's a 70-30 ratio of these bits to the actual funny ones. Also, whether it's based on the movie or something else, none of the homophobic or fat-phobic comedy lands, nor does anything that Kevin Sorbo brings to the table. Like Chuck Norris in...pretty much any movie he acts in, Sorbo gives no indication that he has any investment in the material. Maybe it's just my imagination, but he only came alive during one homophobic bit, which fits. In short, there could have been a decent spoof here, but whether it's because Friedberg and Seltzer were being blackmailed or the producers required them to fill the movie with a certain percentage of pop culture references, there's too much filler and not enough killer. Again, I thought I would join the chorus of those claiming this is the worst movie ever made while the end credits rolled. Instead, I surprisingly find myself wanting to see a Friedberg and Seltzer comedy (that has no pop culture references, of course).
I went in to this movie expecting it to be one of the worst movies I would ever see. It didn't plumb those depths, but while it's no means good overall, it's not totally irredeemable. I found myself chuckling at most of the slapstick and scenes that make fun of 300 that have little to no pop culture references (more on that later). Queen Margo's infidelity, Xerxes' "piercing mishap," Dilio's haplessness and the slow-motion-replete battle that devolves into towel snapping and nipple twisting are examples of decent comedy. It helps that Friedberg and Seltzer were able to wrangle genuine comedic talent for this project. I'd go so far to say that Sean Maguire, who I also enjoyed in the short-lived series Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, out-acts Gerald Butler. Carmen Electra, Diedrich Bader and Ken Davitian also do not totally embarrass themselves and elevate the material as much as they can. I also give credit to composer Christopher Lennertz for how his soundtrack pokes fun at the Lisa Gerrard-isms in 300's soundtrack and without overdoing it.
I watched this movie on a free with ads streaming service. I checked out mentally during 99% of the comedic bits involving a celebrity or pop culture reference - I'll admit to chuckling at moments during the "pit of death" scene and Rocky Balboa fight - in the same way I did when ad breaks occurred, and this is not just because they are old. Don't get me wrong, I am not against comedy relying on pop culture references in movies like this one. The ones in Loaded Weapon 1, for example, still make me laugh when I think about them and that movie is even older than this one. The problem with this movie's is that vast majority of them have so little wit that they merely amount to reminding you that what it's referencing exists and of the year when the movie came out, not to mention make you wonder if the directors added them just to pad the already slim runtime. To make matters worse, it's as if there's a 70-30 ratio of these bits to the actual funny ones. Also, whether it's based on the movie or something else, none of the homophobic or fat-phobic comedy lands, nor does anything that Kevin Sorbo brings to the table. Like Chuck Norris in...pretty much any movie he acts in, Sorbo gives no indication that he has any investment in the material. Maybe it's just my imagination, but he only came alive during one homophobic bit, which fits. In short, there could have been a decent spoof here, but whether it's because Friedberg and Seltzer were being blackmailed or the producers required them to fill the movie with a certain percentage of pop culture references, there's too much filler and not enough killer. Again, I thought I would join the chorus of those claiming this is the worst movie ever made while the end credits rolled. Instead, I surprisingly find myself wanting to see a Friedberg and Seltzer comedy (that has no pop culture references, of course).