Unfortunately, I had already seen all of these but then a title caught my eye. Something I hadn’t seen. But should I take it home? Would my film festival-going friends forgive me? What the heck! I lowered my expectations and took home Epic Movie.If you saw and enjoyed Scary Movie (which is a parody on all the scary movies ever made), then this is the film for you. If you saw the Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the DaVinci Code or Nacho Libre; then this film will mean a lot more to you. Each of these shows up as major parts of this film parody.
Yes, it does have some risqué bits in it. Yes, it is certainly low-brow humor. But the moment I recognized the delightfully creepy Crispin Glover portraying “Willy Wonka”, I knew this film had something going for it. Which was only confirmed when I realized that the talented Darrell Hammond from Saturday Night Live was behind the pirate make-up of the Captain Jack Sparrow want-to-be. (and if you are a fan of SNL’s Lazy Sunday digital short, prepare for the pirate version!). And if Crispin Glover and Darrell Hammond weren’t enough, Epic Movie also has Kal Penn. Some may know him from his dramatic roles as the Indian son in my fore mentioned film The Namesake or his recurring role as a terrorist on the television show 24. But I know Kal Penn because he stars in one of my favorite guilty pleasure films: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. (available at HBPL!)
So check your brain at the door, be warned that this film can be rude and crude but prepare to spend an evening laughing at Epic Movie.
