"Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

[Elok]

I'm sure we've all seen the previews. First came Scary Movie and the sequels. Then came Date Movie, Epic Movie, and a whole bunch of other "spoofs" consisting of limp pop-culture references chosen randomly and strung together in a loose, nonsensical chain. Now there's yet another one. Who keeps greenlighting these damned things???

I like to think that they're just ruses to lure all the morons into a crowded theater, that once the movie starts they release a colorless, odorless gas that sterilizes everyone in the room so they don't pass on their inferior, no-taste-having genes. However, all these movies appeal to the same knuckle-dragging audience, so if they're doing that they're just facing diminishing returns and re-sterilizing the same set of people over and over again.

So, unpalatable as it is to think of it, these movies must actually be making some amount of money from some source. Perhaps it's just that, as many more intelligent viewers save money by pirating movies, the "drooling jackass" demographic grows bigger and bigger as a percentage of the market. What demographic does this crap appeal to, anyway? Does anybody here know, or have a reasonable guess, how they turn a profit?

[Lorizael]

I think American culture has contributed all that it can to the world. The collective creativity of this nation has been exhausted and all that's left are these self-referential retreads.

I blame the death of our culture on the internet, which has greatly accelerated the speed at which cultural memes spread, far outpacing our ability to understand and interpret those ideas.

[Patroklos]

I think American culture has contributed all that it can to the world. The collective creativity of this nation has been exhausted and all that's left are these self-referential retreads.

They usually make more money overseas

[DaShi]

Yes, I'm surprised that these movies are in theatres. They seem more orientated toward straight-to-dvd.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Patroklos
They usually make more money overseas

Overseas: 6.3 billion

Not overseas: .3 billion

[Traianvs]

- India - Arab world - Africa. Go and check it out... they're not waiting fot the next piece of crap. They have their own filth

It's only the corrupted western Europeans who have been defiled by US trash. Thanks btw, because of the Americans we can save us the trouble of making that worthless garbage ourselves. (although, mind you, we do posess that ability: cf. the many pathetic soaps roaming the European broadcasting networks)

[Tuberski]

Re: "Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

Originally posted by Elok
I'm sure we've all seen the previews. First came Scary Movie and the sequels. Then came Date Movie, Epic Movie, and a whole bunch of other "spoofs" consisting of limp pop-culture references chosen randomly and strung together in a loose, nonsensical chain. Now there's yet another one. Who keeps greenlighting these damned things???

I like to think that they're just ruses to lure all the morons into a crowded theater, that once the movie starts they release a colorless, odorless gas that sterilizes everyone in the room so they don't pass on their inferior, no-taste-having genes. However, all these movies appeal to the same knuckle-dragging audience, so if they're doing that they're just facing diminishing returns and re-sterilizing the same set of people over and over again.

So, unpalatable as it is to think of it, these movies must actually be making some amount of money from some source. Perhaps it's just that, as many more intelligent viewers save money by pirating movies, the "drooling jackass" demographic grows bigger and bigger as a percentage of the market. What demographic does this crap appeal to, anyway? Does anybody here know, or have a reasonable guess, how they turn a profit?

No, first came Airplane.

If done smartly, they are very entertaining in a mindless, useless way.

I'd complain more, but I have to go put peroxide on my knuckles.

ACK!

[LordShiva]

Re: Re: "Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

Originally posted by Tuberski


No, first came Airplane.

If done smartly, they are very entertaining in a mindless, useless way.

QFT

Spaceballs, Hotshots, etc.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Airplane
Spaceballs
Hot Shots

[Lorizael]

I think I'm the only rabid Star Wars fan out there that doesn't care for Spaceballs.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Re: Re: "Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

Originally posted by Tuberski


No, first came Airplane.

If done smartly, they are very entertaining in a mindless, useless way.

I'd complain more, but I have to go put peroxide on my knuckles.

ACK!

No no no no no no NO!

First there was Kentucky Fried Movie, the granddaddy (along with Groove Tube) of this whole genre. If you're going to be a geek about movie history, then really be a geek about movie history.

[Elok]

No, those are actual spoofs with actual jokes, as opposed to "spoofs" that stick in things at random without rhyme or reason. Like the Spartans "stomping the yard." Yes, I realize that Stomp the Yard and 300 were both recent movies, but that does not mean it makes any sense, whether comedic or logical, to fuse them together. Also, Donald Trump? Britney? Huh?

And they don't do anything with the references, they just slap them all together and expect a joke to tell itself. You get the feeling people are supposed to see The Donald snip Spidey's web, think "Wow, I recognize those two unrelated cultural memes! Now they're in nonsensical conjunction!" and immediately burst out laughing. You might as well compare Spaceballs to a little kid saying "Star Wars" and then making an armpit-fart noise and giggling.

While we're at it, 300 was a self-parody. It doesn't need or deserve to be parodied.

[Tuberski]

Re: Re: Re: "Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly


No no no no no no NO!

First there was Kentucky Fried Movie, the granddaddy (along with Groove Tube) of this whole genre. If you're going to be a geek about movie history, then really be a geek about movie history.

SAMUEL L. BRONKOWITZ presents........



But they aren't exactly movie parodies.....

ACK!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Re: Re: Re: Re: "Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

Originally posted by Tuberski


SAMUEL L. BRONKOWITZ presents........



But they aren't exactly movie parodies.....

ACK!

Then what, pray tell, was Catholic High School Girls In Trouble? I mean, aside from something that had a formative effect on my adolescence...

[Tuberski]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: "Meet the Spartans" and the putrid, decaying corpse of comedy

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly


Then what, pray tell, was Catholic High School Girls In Trouble? I mean, aside from something that had a fomative effect on my adolescence...

They seem more of adult SNL skits.

Sex Olympics.

ACK!