Michael Tiddes
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To a large degree, "A Haunted House" plays like a feature-length riff on a classic Eddie Murphy stand-up routine inspired by "Poltergeist" ("Why don't white people just leave the house when there's a ghost in the house?").
Such is the case with "A Haunted House," which additionally references 1999's " The Blair Witch Project ," 2010's " The Last Exorcism ," and, oddly, 1997's " I Know What You Did Last Summer " without knowing the first thing about subverting expectations or bringing clever or savvy twists to their shout-outs.
They do their best by bolstering the main storyline with funny scenes that pick on movies like Whiplash and Magic Mike (including the movie’s best scene involving a TV mom of advanced age proving she’s a very, very good sport), but there just aren’t that many other S&M romantic dramas to lump into the mix.
The film is also very of-the-moment with its references to such things as Whiplash, Magic Mike, #BlackLivesMatter, and the last Ronda Rousey title fight.
There’s a Magic Mike scene with some swollen balls, a Whiplash gag that no one who sees this movie will get (and it involves Florence Henderson), and Jane Seymour shows up to spout some tired racist jokes, which just makes me sad.
When it all runs out of steam, the cock-and-ball routines downshift into riffs from Whiplash and Magic Mike, but sadly, these aren’t funny either.
(A leftfield spoof on “Magic Mike” fares less well.)
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson
influenced Fifty Shades of Black (2016)
Plot
By setting his sights on the film adaptation of EL James’ bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey , Wayans finally finds a target that offers him a valid excuse for his trademark crudeness.
The prospect of spoofing Fifty Shades of Grey, as Marlon Wayans attempts to do in his new film Fifty Shades of Black, is a surprisingly difficult one.
"Fifty Shades of Black" is Marlon Wayans' parody of "Fifty Shades of Grey," and if you think jabbing at the book-slash-big screen phenomenon is akin to slam-dunking on a kiddie rim, think again.
For those completely unfamiliar with “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the parody “Fifty Shades of Black” might seem nonsensical.
Working again with director Michael Tiddes and co-writer Rick Alvarez, Wayans stars in this filthy, witless parody of "Fifty Shades of Grey" -- a movie no one took seriously in the first place, you'll recall, which makes it tricky to mock.
Wayans didn’t have to scratch too deeply into the zeitgeist to come up with this racially tinged parody of Fifty Shades of Grey.
Scary Movie (2000)
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans
influenced A Haunted House (2013), Fifty Shades of Black (2016)
Themes Plot
In a recent interview with HitFix, Marlon Wayans used the similarly timed releases of his found-footage horror comedy A Haunted House and the fourth Scary Movie sequel as an excuse to rant against the franchise he helped launch.
Since the “Scary Movie” brand is now someone else’s property (since that series is so genius), we now have “A Haunted House” a movie so bereft or wit or actual comedy, that it’s embarrassing.
In his career, Marlon Wayans has found success spoofing socially conscious black dramas (1996's "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood"), "Scream"-style horror films (2000's " Scary Movie "), haunted house pics (2001's " Scary Movie 2 "), and dance flicks (2009's, uh, " Dance Flick ").
Some of the Scary Movie series’ architects reassemble here for a joylessly raunchy comedy about a ghost causing trouble for couple Malcolm (Wayans) and Kisha (Atkins).
This doesn’t bode well for a “Scary Movie” type of film, with Keenan Ivory off doing god knows what.
Written by Marlon Wayans and Rick Alvarez and not so much directed as vaguely steered by Michael Tiddes, "A Haunted House" is a ramshackle parody of recent found-footage horror movies in the vein of the "Scary Movie" movies.
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans
influenced Fifty Shades of Black (2016)
Heck, the Wayans (spearheaded by oldest brother Keenan Ivory Wayans) gave us some hilarious films like “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” and the original “Scary Movie” installments.
The film is also very of-the-moment with its references to such things as Whiplash, Magic Mike, #BlackLivesMatter, and the last Ronda Rousey title fight.
Such clever little ironies are in short supply in the movie, but the see-what-sticks approach does yield a couple of hits for every hundred misses, including a rack of whips that reference those used in Hollywood slave dramas and Florence Henderson’s game turn as a dominatrix version of J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash.”
Though it is unsettling and perhaps disappointing to see Mrs. Brady behave so obscenely, I laughed at the scene's core concept, which compares the dominant/submissive relationship in "Fifty Shades" to the one in "Whiplash" (tempo!).
Based on the trailers, Fifty Shades of Black humorously mirrors not only Fifty Shades of Grey but Magic Mike and Whiplash.
They do their best by bolstering the main storyline with funny scenes that pick on movies like Whiplash and Magic Mike (including the movie’s best scene involving a TV mom of advanced age proving she’s a very, very good sport), but there just aren’t that many other S&M romantic dramas to lump into the mix.
There’s a Magic Mike scene with some swollen balls, a Whiplash gag that no one who sees this movie will get (and it involves Florence Henderson), and Jane Seymour shows up to spout some tired racist jokes, which just makes me sad.
One was a poop joke, and one was a Soul Plane joke.
We're not talking "Soul Plane" here -- which, coincidentally, gets mentioned in "Fifty Shades of Black" as an example of a bad movie, even though it is much funnier than "Fifty Shades of Black."
Now let’s see what the Wayans clan can do with I Am Curious (Yellow) , or Blue Velvet , or Behind the Green Door .
Now let’s see what the Wayans clan can do with I Am Curious (Yellow) , or Blue Velvet , or Behind the Green Door .
Although the scenes are played for laughs, they do still contain BDSM, with the whips on display named after slavery-themed films like Roots , Glory , 12 Years a Slave , etc. There's also substance use and abuse by adults: The main female character gets drunk, and someone tries to spike her drink with Molly; the main male character recalls becoming a billionaire because he used to use and sell crack cocaine.
That’s just an aspect of his controlling, dominant nature, which also includes hiding in her laundry basket to keep an eye on her and demanding she sign a contract detailing what exactly he can and cannot do to her, such as whether he’s allowed to use the whip labeled “12 Years a Slave” on her, or just settle for the one marked “Roots.”
Marlon Wayans (ingratiatingly wimpy) and Kali Hawk (with bangs and clumsy sweater) act out the Beauty and the Beast rituals of "Christian Black" and "Hannah Steele."
Well, it made Kung Fu Panda 3 look like Citizen Kane.
Now let’s see what the Wayans clan can do with I Am Curious (Yellow) , or Blue Velvet , or Behind the Green Door .
These guys destroyed spoof movies in the 2000s with such terrible flicks as “Meet the Spartans,” “Disaster Movie” and “Epic Movie.”
But they’re quick and cheap to produce, can be cast with unknown actors, and take aim and low-hanging fruit, which is why we too often wind up with dimwitted, subpar send ups like Date Movie, Meet the Spartans, and others of that ilk.
These guys destroyed spoof movies in the 2000s with such terrible flicks as “Meet the Spartans,” “Disaster Movie” and “Epic Movie.”
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
Directed by Paris Barclay
influenced Fifty Shades of Black (2016), A Haunted House (2013)
Marlon Wayans’ track record in this genre is spotty at best—though some of the early Scary Movies are solid, and Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood is sheer gold, the likes of Dance Flick and A Haunted House are better left unmentioned.
It’s one thing to skewer an entire genre, as the Wayans did in Scary Movie or Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood , but quite another to pick a single source to parody, and a very thin gruel of a source at that.
In his career, Marlon Wayans has found success spoofing socially conscious black dramas (1996's "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood"), "Scream"-style horror films (2000's " Scary Movie "), haunted house pics (2001's " Scary Movie 2 "), and dance flicks (2009's, uh, " Dance Flick ").
After wringing every last joke out of the “Paranormal Activity” movies with “A Haunted House” and its sequel, co-writer/star Marlon Wayans , co-writer Rick Alvarez and director Michael Tiddes handcuff themselves to the latest pop-culture phenomenon, but don’t have the requisite discipline for the material.
Considering Marlon Wayans’ crummy track record (Dance Flick, Little Man, White Chicks), it’s amazing how laugh-out-loud funny A Haunted House turns out to be.
Previous send-ups such as White Chicks have been counterbalanced with straighter roles in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
A Haunted House is written by and stars Marlon Wayans of Scary Movie, Dance Flick and White Chicks fame.
Wayans is also incapable of limiting himself to parodying one movie at a time, tossing in riffs on Whiplash, Magic Mike, and Zero Dark Thirty to varying degrees of success.