For those who missed the trailers (and therefore still have a reason to see the movie), Scary Movie is a mock-up of some relatively recent movies which have been done to death, Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Sure, there are sprinklings of other movies in there, but not enough to even warrant mention. Unfortunately, if you don't know much about the two main parodied movies, most of the mocking will go over your head. I had seen part of Scream and knew a little bit about Last Summer, so I did okay. But I think a few things which would have been amusing had I known more, just weren't.

Unfortunately, they made the mistake of actually trying to form some bit of story in here, instead of just going full blast with jokes. And I'll admit that a lot of the jokes they had were cheap or downright disgusting. What makes the movie passable for what it is are the few good moments which make you laugh out loud. There is genuinely good mocking going on here--it's just too watered down with nonsense and threadbare story. If you're a fan of gross or gay humor, then you're likely to get more laughs out of this than I did.

I didn't come away from Scary Movie regretting having seen it (although I'm glad I caught the cheap matinee.) After all, a movie is a movie. But I do think a lot more could have been done with it. The extra movies they did toss in got barely a mention--a scene or two at best. The Matrix, which could have had at least 5 scattered minutes of scenes, got a one-minute action sequence, for example. And, surely the mark of any not-too-great movie, all the best scenes of this movie (apart from the one scene which would have been too long to include) were in the trailer.

When all is said and done, Scary Movie isn't bad as such, it's just the stereotypical equivalent of chinese food. It tastes good for a bit, then you're full, but after you leave the table, you're hungry again. This will make a good rental for either a single person or gang when it comes out. But unless you get the cheap, cheap showing, then shy away from it in the theater.