Movie #20 - Epic Movie

There are many films that I have watched over the years that have been poorly done. Whether the film was poorly written, bad direction, or an overall rotten plot, there have been choices that I have made as a movie fan that have been questionable. Movies that I have regret seeing over the years mainly range in the made for television category, however, sometimes these disastrous gems make it on the big screen.

I give no excuses to any of the films that make this list. Money grabs for example - movies where the actors are playing the roles to get paid, are inexcusable reasons to make a lack luster film. Flopping blockbusters - big budget movies that are billed to be the next great action movie, are not to be outdone.

However, a film that is made, released, and is expectedly bad should never be made in the first place. This is the category in which Epic Movie ranks. Don't get me wrong, I like brainless humor and the gratuitous use of nudity or fart jokes, however, this movie is terrible from start to finish.

Before Epic Movie, the worst movie I had seen in recent years had to have been Wesley Snipes and Robert De Niro's The Fan. Lets just say, that was a "money grab" movie, but overall quite bad. Yet although The Fan was intended to be a noir thriller, Epic Movie just lost me from the beginning.

Spoof films are supposed to be funny. They are literally poking fun at the movies that are successful and are banking on the fact that the whole audience has seen the films and know all of the subtle nuances and inside jokes. Yet, this film is strictly geared to the 13 year old male audience - and yet, even that generation as a whole probably thinks this movie is bad.
I know that the annual Razzie Awards usually recognize films that are mainstream but are major stinkers or tremendous flops, however, the Razzie board should make an exception with this film.

The plot circles around The Chronicles of Narnia, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Superman Returns, X-Men 3, Harry Potter 5, Da Vinci Code, and Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest. There was a great opportunity to achieve a number of spoofs sub plots with these major blockbusters, but none are comedic enough to evoke a personal response.

There is only one clever scene utilizing Fred Willard in which Willard is battling Silus from the Da Vinci Code. What makes this scene hilarious is that the stuntman is very muscular and quite Asian and the scenes are blatantly showing his face. I thought that was quite comical, but a far cry considering this movie is almost 2 hours long.

There are a number of key cameos - David Carradine, Carmen Electra, Crispin Glover, and Jennifer Coolidge while the main headline actor is Kal Penn. Let's just say that Penn has stamped any hope of him ever being taken seriously in acting. He's tried with recent attempts on television appearances on Law & Order SVU, House, and 24. Penn even had a role as a thug in Superman Returns in which he has no speaking lines. Yet, Penn is greatly known from his role in Van Wilder and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and with more roles like Edward in Epic Movie, he deserves all the White Castle burgers in the world.

Reference: I originally published this article on Helium.com