Disaster Movie

  • Review Date: August 31, 2008
  • PG-13
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 2008
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Crude, dumb spoof isn't worth your time or money.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this crude parody is from the same directing team responsible for Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Meet the Spartans. Like all of those movies, this one features a seemingly endless list of celebrity impersonations and reenactments of scenes from other popular films. Expect strong language ("s--t," "a--hole," etc.) and comedic violence. There are a couple of scenes of women in bikinis or lingerie, a shot of Beowulf's naked behind, and tons of sex-based jokes and references. As for commercialism, the entire film could be regarded as an ad for all of the movies and celebrities it references.

  • There really isn't a message except that perhaps the directors don't understand the meaning of parody. Women are portrayed as damsels in distress; there's a scene filled with gay jokes/stereotypes. A random little person pops up as a sexual joke.
  • Gun play and comedic violence (like fake-looking body parts landing everywhere), Dr. Phil and others being shot, a delusional woman eating glass, a woman being crushed to death, and other disaster-movie stereotypes.
  • Many references to heterosexual and homosexual acts; a couple of female characters are shown wearing lingerie; Beowulf's naked rear is visible; Flavor Flav and a little person are in bed with a woman; the princess, who has a pimp, says she'll "do anything" if the price is right.

What's the story?

DISASTER MOVIE loosely follows the plotline of Cloverfield, one of the dozens of popular movies being targeted here. While at a party, an unknown catastrophe strikes Manhattan, endangering the lives of Will (Matt Lanter), his ex-girlfriend Amy (Vanessa Minnillo), and random other friends, including Juno-esque pregnant teen Juney (Crista Flanagan) and a Giselle-like (but really crazy) Enchanted princess (Nicole Parker) who actually lives in the sewers. As they attempt to survive falling asteroids, twisters, and other life-threatening phenomena, Will and company bump into many celebrities and re-enact scenes from scores of other movies.


Is it any good?

 

Unlike the classic genre parodies of the '70s and '80s that left audiences nearly out of breath from laughing so hard, this decade has brought us a series of successively less bearable, virtually unwatchable "comedies" from directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. What they make isn't even comedy; it's more like a parade of popular movie characters and celebrities stitched together with punchlines so eye-rollingly predictable that most seventh-graders could have written them.

The actors themselves, a few of whom are MADtv veterans, aren't to blame. None of them is well-known enough -- with the exceptions of Carmen Electra and Kim Kardashian, both of whom have their ample "actorly" assets on display -- to turn down a film role. The fact that Lions Gate keeps giving Friedberg and Seltzer a platform for this dreck is the real disaster.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about whether this film is really a parody of disaster movies. What characteristics of that genre is it making fun of? What other things does the movie mock? Why do you think the filmmakers included so many pop-culture references? Are the celebrity impersonators and sight-gags from other movies funny? Do you think anyone will find any of it funny decades from now, when half of the references will have been forgotten? Does any of it go too far? Are there better examples of spoofs?


This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Teen, 16 years old
September 5, 2010
 

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Parent of 15 year old
August 6, 2010
 
im doing this about the unrated version

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Kid, 13 years old
July 26, 2010
 
Disaster Movie is a DISASTER
This was a TERRIBLE movie. It did have some clever things like the head on, the chipmunks and the song at the end but other than that it was probably the worst movie i've ever seen. Save 80 mins of your time. Theres a lot of better spoof movies out there.

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Kid, 12 years old
December 4, 2010
 
defintley not for kids
Not really a good movie. There is only a couple parts that are funny.the one that i liked the most was the head-on part

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Kid, 12 years old
September 27, 2010
 
great social satire!
The laughs just keep on coming! The comic violence is nothing to be afraid of, and if there's anything you should be concerned with, it's that your kids will laugh so hard they'll end up with resparatory failure! highly recommend it!

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Kid, 12 years old
August 8, 2010
 

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Teen, 14 years old
August 8, 2010
 

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Kid, 11 years old
August 8, 2010
 

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Kid, 13 years old
August 6, 2010
 
Haha
Hilarious movie! Crude but good. Some messages say stand up for what you think is right while others say when you have a f*ght do it n*ked! Also some potty mouthing going on and some gay, and straight themes... Hope I helped

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Adult
October 16, 2010
 
not that bad as it sounds the chimpunk bit is wierd

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This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
Studio:Lionsgate
Directors:Aaron Seltzer, Jason Friedberg
Cast:Crista Flanagan, Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo
Genre:Comedy
Run time:90 minutes
Theatrical release date:August 29, 2008
DVD release date:January 5, 2009
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:crude and sexual content throughout, language, drug references and comic violence.

This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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