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Dance Flick
Thomas (Damon Wayans Jr.) demonstrates his dancing gift to Megan (Shoshana Bush) in "Dance Flick."Courtesy
By KIM BROWN World Scene Writer
Published: 5/22/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 5/26/2009 5:47 AM
"Dance Flick" is so bad even its own mother couldn't love it.
That's harsh, but it's exactly the type of playground humor that fuels this spoof movie gone wild.
These movies are obviously meant to be parodies of everything that's bad about Hollywood films, yet they are quickly becoming parodies of themselves.
Am I overanalyzing? Sure. Is there a good reason? Absolutely.
The latest Wayans brothers jaunt is directed by Damien Wayans, written by Keenen Ivory and Shawn Wayans, and stars second-generation family member Damon Wayans Jr., who've had box-office success with their other parodies, such as "Scary Movie" and "White Chicks."
But here they seem to be grasping for laughs and could care less about how they get them.
Unlike its title suggests, there isn't much dance in "Dance Flick." The opening scene showing a high-stakes, urban dance-off is mildly funny (one of the break dancers levitates in a back spin, and another literally drills a hole into the dance floor with his head spin), but the rest of the movie concentrates on sick humor and stereotyping everything from blind people to poorly fitting dance tights. Trust me, you don't want to go there.
Of course mocking is the name of the game here, but I guess I was expecting more spoofs of dance movies. Sure, there's a character imitating Tracy Turnblad from "Hairspray," and a Zac Efron wannabe from "High School Musical," yet the bits are so random that you're always left wanting more — or something different, anyway.
Here's what I could surmise was the plot: Former ballet student Megan (Shoshana Bush) is off to a new school, this movie's version of the "Fame" high school, called Musical High School. But her mother has died in a car accident on her way to see Megan audition for Juilliard. So, Megan must make friends with the kids at her new school — Charity (Essence Atkins) and her brother, Thomas (Wayans Jr.).
That's pretty much it. The rest of the scenes are more like setups with gross punch lines. And I'm not kidding when I say gross.
Again, I know this isn't meant to be taken so seriously, but the Wayans brothers are actually amazing at comedy. I grew up watching "In Living Color" and still love the breakthrough comedy series.
This just seems too easy for the talented family of entertainers.
Plus, Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg and company already did the guys-in-tights routine on a recent episode of "Saturday Night Live," and they want their tights back.
Dance Flick
Stars: Damon Wayans Jr.,
Shoshana Bush
Theaters: Promenade, Cinemark
Tulsa, Starworld 20, RiverWalk,
Owasso, Broken Arrow, Sand
Springs
Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes
Rated: PG-13 (crude and sexual
content throughout, language)
Quality:  (on a scale of zero to
four stars)
Kim Brown 581-8474
kim.brown@tulsaworld.com
By KIM BROWN World Scene Writer
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