| Epic Movie | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer |
| Produced by | Paul Schiff |
| Written by | Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer |
| Starring | Jayma Mays Jennifer Coolidge Adam Campbell Faune A. Chambers Crispin Glover Darrell Hammond Kal Penn Fred Willard Tim Lockwood David Lehre |
| Music by | Edward Shearmur |
| Cinematography | Shawn Maurer |
| Editing by | Peck Prior |
| Studio | Regency Enterprises New Regency |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | January 26, 2007 |
| Running time | Original theatrical version 85 minutes Unrated version 89 minutes |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $86,865,564 (Worldwide) |
Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Tim Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The song "Ms. New Booty" by Bubba Sparxxx gained commercial attention for being featured in Epic Movie.
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The film begins with a parody of The Da Vinci Code. Lucy (Jayma Mays), finds that her adopted 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. Edward (Kal Penn) lives at a Mexican monastery. Ignacio (Jareb Dauplaise) becomes enraged at Edward's displeasure at the living conditions and has him thrown out the window. On the way Edward grabs a Monks "Golden Ticket." Next the film introduces Susan (Faune Chambers). She is going to Namibia to meet her new adoptive parents. While she orders water, snakes come out and hijack the plane. Samuel L. Jackson (James Walker, Sr.) pops up starts repeatedly saying "I have had it with these God damn snakes on this God damn plane!" and then throws Susan out of the plane so that she would be safe. Susan falls on Paris Hilton and finds her "Golden Ticket" in Paris' purse. Then the film introduces Peter (Adam Campbell), a mutant. He asks Mystique (Carmen Electra) to come with him to the homecoming dance. Peter is bullied by Mystique's boyfriend, Wolverine (Vince Vieluf) and the Headmaster, Magneto (Jim Piddock). As Magneto wills a locker door to open and knock Peter to the ground, another student's "Golden Ticket" falls onto Peter's chest.
All four meet up at Willy's Chocolate Factory. Willy (Crispin Glover) reveals he plans to kill them all as the 'special ingredient' in the treats is actual human parts. In an effort to hide from the maniacal Willy , Lucy soon finds a wardrobe. On the other side, in the middle of a wintry forest, she finds Mr. Tumnus (Héctor Jiménez). He welcomes Lucy to Gnarnia. Feeling a burst of compassion, he manages to warn Lucy of the danger she is in. Edward follows Lucy to Gnarnia and meets the White Bitch (Jennifer Coolidge). She convinces him to trap the other orphans and he can be the king of Gnarnia in her White Castle. All four main characters makes his or her way to Mr. Tumnus' house, where the orphans discover that they are all related to one another, and that the White Bitch killed their parents. They ally themselves with Harry Beaver (Katt Williams), Tumnus' life partner. Edward sneaks off to the White Bitch's castle. Despite realizing she intends evil, the White Bitch flashes Edward her breasts, hypnotizing him into giving up the information on the orphans; he is then imprisoned. The White Bitch sends Silas after the trio; Tumnus sacrifices himself to ensure their safety.
They end up meeting a graying Harry Potter (Kevin McDonald), along with a balding Ron Weasley (George Alvarez), and a pregnant Hermione Granger (Crista Flanagan) in Hogwarts. They all help Lucy, Susan, and Peter train for the war against the White Bitch. It's soon revealed she plans to create a new continent for her followers via a magic crystal; she acknowledges this is the same plot as Superman Returns. Edward escapes with the assistance of Captain Jack Swallows, only to find out later that it was a ruse as the Captain tricks needed intelligence out of Edward. Jack is then stabbed by the White Bitch as the crystal is lost in the ocean, putting the witch's plan in motion.
Upon finishing their training, Lucy, Susan, and Peter, head to the camp of Aslo (Fred Willard). Aslo agrees to help Edward in exchange for a foursome and a Dutch oven. Managing to kill Silias while breaking Edward out, Aslo is slain by the White Bitch. Despite this, they have a pre-battle party, during which Peter and Mystique (who, along with the others who bullied Peter, had come to help the trio) make love. Susan gets drunk and vomits everywhere; this so disgusts their new army that nobody shows up to help the orphans the next day. Despite the presence of a revenge-craving Jack on a giant wooden wheel, the four siblings are easily dispatched. Peter is about to be slain when he finds the remote from the movie Click, using the device's reality altering powers to save his siblings; they kill the army and erase the White Bitch's plot. Though the others attempt to kill her while frozen, Peter declares the White Bitch will receive a fair and just trial in the new Gnarnia. Moments later, Jack's wheel crushes her. The four are crowned the new rulers of the land: Peter the Wonderful, Susan the Just, Edward the Loyal, and Lucy the Dipshit. Tumnus then shows up; he is still recovering from his battle with Silas. Decades later, the four now elderly rulers find the way home and stumble through. They appear moments after they had left, now young again. Borat congratulates them on a happy ending; the four are then smashed to death by Jack's wheel, with Borat following with "NOT!" before smacking his rump at the audience.
The unrated, longer version (released in the UK as the "Rude & Crude Unseen Version") of the film features some scenes not shown in the theatrical version. For example, Willy Wonka 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 "Narnia" closet, 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 "God damn" with "motherfuckin'."
Epic Movie debuted at #1 at the box office with a gross of $18.6 million over the opening weekend.[1] As of May 8, 2007 the film has grossed $86,865,564, with $39,739,367 of that amount earned domestically, despite negative reviews from critics.[2] 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).
The film was a financial success despite receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film 21st in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s, with a rating of 2%.[3]
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." [4] 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?" [5] 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," [6] and Ronnie Scheib of Variety said it was "epically unfunny" and "unlikely to join the list of blockbusters it lampoons." [7] 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."[8]
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer were nominated for the "Worst Screenplay" award at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards. Additionally, the film garnered nominations in two other categories, Worst Remake or Rip-Off and Worst Supporting Actress for Carmen Electra.
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.[9]
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