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Parents' Guide to

Disaster Movie

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Crude, dumb spoof isn't worth your time or money.

Movie PG-13 2008 90 minutes
Disaster Movie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 10 parent reviews

Accurate P.
Accurate P. Parent of 15-year-old
August 16, 2022
age 18+

This is the worst movie I’ve ever seen.

Rated X18

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
DBarto
DBarto Adult
January 10, 2009
age 16+

Do I even need to come up with a title to discribe how bad this film is?

Okay, I enjoy a good comedy (ex. Napoleon Dynamite, Tropic Thunder) but this is far from a comedy. All the "jokes" are bland and tasteless. This movie set a new record for time getting me out of a theater (Which was previously held by Meet the Spartans). The only reason I saw this one was because it was the second film in a Drive In double feature. Pass this pile of crap up, don't even consider it. 1 out of 5
1 person found this helpful.
See all 10 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (52 ):

This decade has brought us a series of successively less bearable, virtually unwatchable "comedies" from directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, and this is yet another. Unlike the classic genre parodies of the '70s and '80s that left audiences nearly out of breath from laughing so hard, 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.

Talk to Your Kids 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?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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