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score 7/10
Spoiler Alert. Enjoy the movie first if you don't want to be sullied by the opinion of another.
M 7 Not quite an 8 because ever since "Scary Movie" (Only the first one and maybe the third.) his form requires absolute surprise. Also, from the old "Police Squad" days comes a plethora of knock-offs that try hard but just don't make it. The parodies of Narnia related movies come to mind. But as can be seen in the number of parody failures, it's a difficult art form. Maybe more difficult that outright comedy.
But his movie hits on several levels and while being no Mel Brooks or Faralley Brothers or Coen Brothers production, some of the lines are well written. Unfortunately they are poorly acted. Others just miss but a few hit. The throwaway line is a great comedic vehicle but timing is of the essence. In "The Starving Games" the timing is just a little off with some of the gags. Some were spot on but others fell flat because of terrible comedic timing. Otherwise, an enjoyable movie with just the right amount of quotes from other movies but with a twist.
The gay references were so obvious that they just didn't work. The whole Intro to the games scene where the lead male falls for his male counterpart was so obvious that it really wasn't funny at all. Either was the reference to Cantmiss' misunderstood "hit" on the young girl. It just didn't work. Maybe we've become so used to gays as a fact of life that the whole "gay" thing has little surprise left. One expects something referring to same sex relationships and thus the whole "gay" thing has the same impact as a SURPRISE heterosexual relationship.
The explanation of the attire was great. Lady Gaga mixed with Mikki Menage (?). One could see it and it was a nice touch. Those places show that the duo can write.
Lots of mugging from all and I don't care if I never see a blue haired man bent over backward in laughter. All that mugging was bad direction and did not help sell the good lines in the film. And there are some good lines and funny verbal plays. Bringing in Stallone, Schwartznegger, and ail the other "action" stars like a super A-team was a good surprise. I think a better ending would be if they all behaved as if they were in the games and killed each other instead of the boyfriend shooting them all as he bursts onto the set. A good twist was bringing in the Avengers to recruit Cantmiss as a member. Some funny stuff there.
Obviously the directors also thought some of the comedic timing was amiss because they included in the film a series of outtakes about the games. Most of it was not that funny.
I hope the two director/writers get another shot and learn from the few mistakes made here.
ted-peterson 12 November 2013
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2904440/ |
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22-11-2019 04:54:27
