Epic Movie
Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It stars Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays, Jennifer Coolidge, Faune A. Chambers, Crispin Glover, Tony Cox, and Fred Willard. A parody of the epic film genre, the film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean, and X-Men: The Last Stand.
| Epic Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer |
| Produced by | Paul Schiff |
| Written by |
|
| Starring | |
| Music by | Edward Shearmur |
| Cinematography | Shawn Maurer |
| Edited by | Peck Prior |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox[lower-alpha 1][1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million[3] |
| Box office | $86.9 million |
The song "Ms. New Booty" by Bubba Sparxxx gained commercial attention for being featured in Epic Movie. Many have considered this to be one of the worst films of all time.
Plot
Lucy (Jayma Mays) finds that her adoptive father (David Carradine), a museum curator, has been attacked by Silas (Kevin Hart). Before dying, he gives clues which lead her to a "Golden Ticket" in a vending machine candy bar. During "comedic" situations, Golden Tickets are found by other orphans, which include Edward (Kal Penn), a disillusioned monk trainee; Susan (Faune Chambers), a displaced adopted girl; and Peter (Adam Campbell), a mutant at Mutant Academy who is often teased for his chicken-like wings. All four meet up at Willy's Chocolate Factory. Willy (Crispin Glover) reveals his plot to use them all as a special ingredient in his treats.
In an effort to hide from the maniacal Willy, Lucy finds a wardrobe. On the other side, in the middle of a wintry forest, she finds Mr. Tumnus (Hector Jimenez), who welcomes Lucy to Gnarnia and warns her of danger. The others follow Lucy to Gnarnia, and Edward meets the White Bitch (Jennifer Coolidge). She convinces him to trap the other orphans in order to become the king of Gnarnia in her White Castle.
All four go to Tumnus' house, where they discover that they are all related to one another in a copy of the famous painting The Last Supper, and that the White Bitch killed their parents. They ally themselves with Harry Beaver (Katt Williams), Tumnus' life partner, to defeat the White Bitch.
Edward sneaks off to the White Bitch's castle and refuses to tell her where the others are. She flashes him her breasts, hypnotizing him into giving up the information on the orphans, then imprisons him. The White Bitch sends Silas after the trio; Tumnus apparently sacrifices himself to ensure their safety.
Afterwards, the orphans meet a graying Harry Potter (Kevin McDonald), along with a balding Ron Weasley (George Alvarez) and a pregnant Hermione Granger (Crista Flanagan) at Hogwarts. They all help Lucy, Susan, and Peter train for the war against the White Bitch.
Edward escapes with the assistance of Captain Jack Swallows (Darrell Hammond), only to find out it was a ruse as Jack, the Bitch's old enemy, needs intelligence out of Edward.
Upon finishing their training, Lucy, Susan, and Peter head to the camp of Aslo (Fred Willard). Aslo agrees to help Edward, and he manages to kill Silas, but while breaking Edward out, Aslo is slain by the White Bitch. As the orphans have a pre-battle party with their allies, Susan gets drunk and vomits everywhere. Their army is disgusted enough that nobody shows up to help the orphans the next day. The four siblings engage the White Bitch in battle and are killed. Peter then finds a magic remote and uses its powers to revive his siblings.
Together, they kill the army, defeat the White Bitch, and stop her plan. Peter declares the White Bitch will receive a fair and just trial in the new Gnarnia, but Jack's wheel accidentally crushes her to death. The four are crowned the new rulers of the land. Tumnus then shows up, having survived his battle. Decades later, the four now-elderly rulers find the wardrobe again and go through it. They appear moments after they had left, young again. They meet Borat (Danny Jacobs), who congratulates them on a happy ending, but then, the four are accidentally run over by Jack's wheel. Borat then says his iconic "NOT!" before turning around and clapping his buttocks, ending the film.
Extended version
The unrated, longer version (released in the United Kingdom as the "Rude & Crude Unseen Version") of the film features some scenes not shown in the theatrical version. In an alternate ending, Willy Wonka, instead of Borat, comes in and says: "I told you it was going to be an epic adventure." Willy Wonka then goes in the wardrobe and puts out a "do not disturb" sign that refers to the girl in the wardrobe. The Oompa-Loompas come in and start singing the Willy Wonka theme song. The four are then crushed by the wheel. Also, during the scene where Lucy is crushed under the junk that falls out of the wardrobe, the girl who runs out is nude, as opposed to wearing a bikini. In the Snakes on a Plane scene, when the Samuel L. Jackson lookalike yells, he replaces "goddamn" with "motherfuckin'".
Cast
Parodies
Films and TV shows
- The Chronicles of Narnia (2005)[4][5][6] - main parody
- The Da Vinci Code (2006)[4][5]
- Nacho Libre (2006)[5]
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)[5]
- Snakes on a Plane (2006)[4][5]
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)[5]
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)[5][6]
- Borat (2006)[5][6]
- Pirates of the Caribbean (2006)[6]
- Superman Returns (2006)[7][8]
- Click (2006)[9]
- MTV Cribs (2000–2006)[10][11][12]
- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)[11]
- Punk'd (2003–2007)[11]
- Saturday Night Live (2005) - "Lazy Sunday" song by The Lonely Island[12]
- The Lord of the Rings (2001)[13]
- Mission: Impossible (2006)[14]
- Casino Royale (2006)[8]
- V for Vendetta (2005)[8]
Release
Box office
Epic Movie debuted at number one at the box office with a gross of $18.6 million over the opening weekend.[16] As of May 8, 2007, the film has grossed $86,865,564, with $39,739,367 of that amount earned domestically.[17] The film was an economic success for its producers not least because it had a comparatively low budget, estimated at $20 million (the same as Date Movie).
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 2% based on 66 reviews and an average rating of 2.33/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A crude comedy with nothing new or insightful to say about the subjects it satirizes."[18] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 17 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C-" on an A+ to F scale.[20]
A. O. Scott of The New York Times called the film "irreverent and also appreciative, dragging its satiric prey down to the lowest pop-cultural denominator" and added, "The humor is coarse and occasionally funny. The archly bombastic score . . . is the only thing you might call witty. But happily, Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard show up ... to add some easy, demented class."[11] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle thought "only a complete idiot could think Epic Movie is remotely funny or worth making at all." Describing it as "so bereft of anything resembling wit or inspiration", he wondered, "What were the perpetrators, uh filmmakers, thinking?"[21] In the Los Angeles Times, Alex Chun called the film "nothing more than a disjointed series of scenes and references cobbled together as a backdrop for sophomoric humor."[22] Ronnie Scheib of Variety said it was "epically unfunny" and "unlikely to join the list of blockbusters it lampoons."[23] The Radio Times said "There's very little that's epic about this senseless parody, but then there's very little that's funny about it, either... It's mind-numbingly, tediously unamusing and is so devoid of imagination it even parodies self-mocking films."[4]
Accolades
Epic Movie was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, Worst Remake or Rip-off, Carmen Electra for Worst Supporting Actress, and Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer for Worst Screenplay.[24]
Home video
The film was released on DVD on May 22, 2007, in an unrated version, and a theatrical version as well. As of late 2009, 1,040,120 DVDs were sold, bringing in $16,807,388.[25]
References
- Logo isn't shown on the main film or on any promotional material
- "EPIC MOVIE (2007)". catalog.afi.com.
- "EPIC MOVIE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. January 19, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- "Epic Movie (2007) - Financial Information". The Numbers (website).
- Jamie Russell. "Radio Times - TV news and guide, TV and radio listings, film reviews guide". Radio Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- "Epic Movie". Plugged In. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- Adler, Shawn. "Biggest Spoof Ever? 'Epic Movie' Skewers 'Borat,' 'Pirates,' 'Potter'". MTV News. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- Berardinelli, James. "Epic Movie". Reelviews Movie Reviews. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "Epic Movie (2007)". MoriaReviews.com. February 11, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- "Seltzer and Friedberg (Creator)". TV Tropes. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "BBC - Movies - review - Epic Movie". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "Bravely Setting Out to Mock Others". The New York Times. January 27, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- "5 Reasons Epic Movie is Too Rotten to Miss". IFC. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- "'Epic Movie': Grand scale failure". thestar.com. January 28, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- "'Epic Movie' strings together movie mimicry with little creativity". East Bay Times. January 26, 2007. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- DAILY NEWS STAFF AND AP REPORT. "'Epic Movie' shows in Dillon cinema". www.summitdaily.com. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "Epic Movie - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Archived from the original on February 2, 2007.
- "Epic Movie (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- "Epic Movie (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- "Epic Movie Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- Nicole Sperling (January 28, 2007). "'Epic Movie' biggest at boxoffice". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
The highest-grossing movie of the frame scored the lowest with audiences, earning a C- from moviegoers.
- "REVIEW / 'Epic Movie's' tries at satire fail on a grand scale". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- Chun, Alex (January 29, 2007). "A witless sampler is 'Epic Movie'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- Scheib, Ronnie (January 26, 2007). "Review: 'Epic Movie'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
- 2007 Razzie Nominees on the Razzies Official home page
- "Epic Movie - DVD Sales". The Numbers. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
External links
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