Not Another Teen Movie * * out of * * * *
Review by Josh Gilchrist
This is more of a desperate attempt to capitalize on the teen sex comedy crazes
than an actual film. "Not Another Teen Movie" throws every bit of nipple, ass and feces joke at us. Being a spoof, it can get away with being tautological and outrageous. The teen films the movie is lampooning are ridiculous in themselves. There's a goldmine of material that can be tapped into and made fun
of, yet "Teen Movie" fails, because it doesn't realize that just recycling the
obvious, albeit with a humorous twist, fails miserably. There's a reason that
90% of spoofs don't register long into our cinematic lexicon. Few of them actually offer timely jokes without running out of ideas. Look at how Mike Myers has butchered the once wonderful "Austin Powers" franchise.
The films humor requires one to know about teen movies from the early 80's to the present. Taking place in John Hughes High School *snicker* the film chronicles the relationship of a high school quarterback and the nerdy art student he's supposed to be making prom queen. Yes, you've seen this film, '99's "She's All That." The film couldn't even muster up an original idea, something the best spoofs have. The films biggest laughs, and most inspired moments, come when actors from former John Hughes' films show up. The guy who played Ferris Bueller's dad stops by to play our hero's father. Molly Ringwald
gets laughs as a foul mouthed stewardess. The best performance comes from Paul
Gleason reprising his role as the militant principal from "The Breakfast Club."
That "Breakfast" send-up is the films finest moment, but also goes by quicker than a second's time in detention.
I have nothing against the spoof genre in general; I'm just fed up with the films that are being poked fun at. What I would love to see is a film that spoofs only the classics from the 30's and 40's. Who would go see that movie though? It would be box office suicide on a grand-scale. So, we're stuck with making fun of films that seemed to have been released last weekend. Time flies
by too fast.
If anything, "Not Another Teen Movie" reminds us of how many hours we have wasted watching films about teen years when we should be our experiencing them.
Then again, what teenager's life is like that of Freddie Prinze Jr.? What kind
of world would it be if apple pies really were being used for sex education? The thought of that is almost as scary as the lame jokes in this film.
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