New U.S. Release

Disaster Movie

By JOE LEYDON

A Lionsgate release, presented with Grosvenor Park, of a 3 in the Box production. Produced by Peter Safran, Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer. Executive producer, Hal Olofsson. Co-producer, Jerry P. Jacobs. Directed, written by Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer.
 
Will - Matt Lanter
Amy - Vanessa Minnillo
Calvin - Gary "G-Thang" Johnson
Enchanted Princess - Nicole Parker
Juney - Crista Flanagan
Lisa - Kim Kardashian
Wolf - Ike Barinholtz
Prince - Tad Hilgenbrinck
Male Carrie - Jason Boegh
Beautiful Assassin - Carmen Electra
 

Seldom has a pic been more appropriately titled than “Disaster Movie,” yet another frantically unfunny free-form farce from the unfortunately prolific writing-directing team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Much like their previous “Date Movie” and “Meet the Spartans,” new effort is a crazy-quilt of scattershot satirical jabs at various contempo (and a few not-so-contempo) films, TV series and overexposed celebrities. The big difference this time is, the air of desperation is even more pronounced than the lack of inspiration. Altogether worthy of its end-of-summer dump by Lionsgate, this lame trifle may generate modest homevid biz. Or not.

Wispy plot -- basically a recycling of stale elements from “Deep Impact” and “Twister” -- serves merely as an excuse to propel cartoonish leads through episodes and encounters that feebly spoof everything from “The Dark Knight” to “10,000 B.C.,” “Enchanted” to “High School Musical.” Pic also takes aim at easy targets -- Dr. Phil, Michael Jackson, Hannah Montana -- but repeatedly misses. Amid the grimly unamusing chaos, Crista Flanagan somehow scores a few chuckles with her spot-on parody of Ellen Page’s star turn in “Juno.” Production values appear marginally more upscale than in previous Friedberg-Seltzer pics.

Camera (Deluxe color), Shawn Maurer; editor, Peck Prior; music, Christopher Lennertz; music supervisor, Dave Jordan, Jojo Villanueva; production designer, William Elliott; costume designer, Frank Helmer. Reviewed at Edwards Greenway Palace 24, Houston, Aug. 29, 2008. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 88 MIN.