"At least it was short" was my initial thought after viewing "Date Movie," followed shortly by, "what a waste of money."
The plot is hard to discern, not because it's a complex movie, but more due to the fact that it's almost nonexistent. Loosely, it seems the movie is about an unfortunate-looking girl who turns beautiful and meets her true love. The two are engaged suddenly but, of course, there are some obstacles the couple must overcome before they can live happily ever after.
More practically, "Date Movie" is a string of poorly executed parodies that manage to offend, disgust and bore the audience all at once. None of your favorite romantic comedies are spared — "Date Movie" slaughters them all. Viewers go from a "When Harry Met Sally" rendition to "Meet the Parents." Not even television escapes unscathed; the film borrows scenes from "Pimp My Ride" and "The Bachelor."
Most of the time the film features the exact scene from the movie being redone, only this time with horrible acting. When the learning-to-dance scene from "Hitch" was recreated by "Date Movie," I barely cracked a smile. I still laugh hysterically when I see it performed by Will Smith and Kevin James.
The most creative parody was of "Pimp My Ride," and it was too disgusting to appreciate.
When viewers weren't disgusted by the humor in "Date Movie," they were offended. The film makes some jokes that are in very poor taste. In one scene the happy couple is walking down the alley at night and decides to celebrate by "bum fighting." They proceed to beat a poor homeless man on the street who has done nothing. Once they've incapacitated him, they skip away gleefully. This is clearly referencing the Florida teens who beat up homeless men for no reason and ended up killing one. The teens have been charged with murder, but "Date Movie" still seems to think this is a laughing matter.
The best part of the movie occurs in the background of another boring scene I can't even call to memory. Michael Jackson is singing and wielding a doll, trying to coax children to come with him. A mom catches him and the two duke it out with dance moves and a lot of sloppy fighting. I know it's an old joke, but at least it's a funny one. I never get tired of seeing Jackson do the moonwalk. The fact that the best part of the entire movie was a spoof of Jackson speaks to the poor quality of the film.
The music is kind of funny, mostly sexual rap songs played in inappropriate places, but it makes sense in the raunchy film. The film even includes some classics like Barry White and The Lovin' Spoonful.
The acting was what you'd expect from a comedy that relies solely on physical humor and has a cast you've mostly never heard of. However, the film's failure can't be blamed on the performances — it's the script that's mainly at fault.
A spoof of romantic comedies was a good idea, but "Date Movie" doesn't pull it off. If you want to make your first date the last one, by all means go see this movie. If you're looking for a second date, "Date Movie" is to be avoided at all costs.
