Pop culture’s in the crapper, and “Meet the Spartans” is a painful reminder of that.
- Brian Merlos
- courtesy of 20th century fox
From the dumbasses responsible for “Date Movie” and “Epic Movie” comes another send-up of the stupid details we happened to notice in movies and television of late. Using the “300” outline, and sprinkling as many outside references as possible into its 84 minute timeframe, “Spartans” is an argument for Ritalin.
Over-active allusions to “Ugly Betty,” “Spider-Man,” Tyra Banks, “Transformers” or the “Leave Britney Alone” kid deserve irreverent scrutiny, because they shouldn’t dictate our viral lives. The problem is, they aren’t being made fun of in the right way.
The film seems as if it were written by an 8-year-old homophobe. How many “gay Spartan” jokes can a person take without being offended? We get pimple gags, annoying celebrities thrown in holes and countless hip-hop references that just don’t work. Mind you, a few jokes do actually fly. Brangelina getting first dibs on Spartan babies, sight gags of a man picking on his son and the untouchable Nicole Parker (“Mad TV”) make this movie almost bearable – almost.
It should be noted that Parker gets away from “Spartans” unscathed. Mimicking Britney, Paris, Paula Abdul and even Ellen DeGeneres, Parker is the only comedic bright spot in another disposable comedy.
But still.
This is terrible.
Meet the Spartans
Rating>: 0 out of 5 stars
At Quality 16 and Showcase
20th Century Fox