I wasn't a big fan of the first two installments of the "Scary Movie" franchise. What I hoped would offer hilarious send-ups of the genre I love so much, the Wayans Brothers instead offered up jokes that were visually inspired, but lacking in humor. The thought process was that sex and bodily liquids are funny in and of themselves. The problem is that it actually takes good writing to make them funny. Fortunately, the two follow-up films in the series were taken over by one of the Zucker Brothers, who knew how to make flying funny, and the lever of humor elevated at least slightly.

With "Date Movie", two of the writers who worked on the "Scary Movie" series tried their hand at parodying another genre. Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg though it might be a good idea to see if their particular brand of humor would work in the world of 'date movies' much in the way "Not Another Teen Movie" made fun of the… uhhh… teen movie genre. They wrote the film with extremely broad strokes, choosing to make fun of every movie they could think of. And they didn’t just hint at them, they took these parodies and smacked you directly in the face.

In "Date Movie", Alyson Hannigan stars as Julia Jones, an extremely overweight girl 'looking for love in all wrong places.' When she becomes thinner and more beautiful, she finds that true love still isn't all that easy to find. Along the way, the writers poke fun of every movie they could possibly think of. Blatant references to "Star Wars", "King Kong", "Lord of the Rings", "When Harry Met Sally", "Pretty Woman", and even "Kill Bill" abound. And for those with a truly keen eye (and movie trivia memory) will catch bits and pieces of the more esoteric "Bridget Jones' Diary", "Hitch", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and "Meet the Fockers."

The only problem with the film is that as hard as it tries, only a handful of the gags are really funny. Most of the scenes are very well shot and the parodies dead on, but they suffer from some poor editing that throws off the timing. In other cases, some of the sequences take the jokes and run with them a little too long until they are no longer funny. And I think that these writers must have worked on the first of the "Scary Movies", because many of the jokes fell into the area of the aforementioned 'sex and bodily liquid' type. There was just a little too much reliance on this to try and make the film funny.

Then there was the case of casting Alyson Hannigan in the lead. Hannigan is an extremely talented actress, which we were witness to with her years on "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" and the more recent "How I Met Your Mother." She seems woefully out of place here, in a sense being too overqualified for the material. This in and of itself did not make the film worse, I feel it just hurt her chances to get better and more deserved roles.

The DVD release I received for review offered up the 'Unrated' version, which added some extra footage not seen in theatres. I did not see it in the theatre so I really cannot tell you what was added. However, they did full up the disc with a bunch of extra features, including 3 separate commentaries. The first is by writer director Aaron Seltzer and writer Jason Friedberg, who spend a good part of the time talking about what you’re watching while pointing out the references. But it is still a fairly interesting track as they deliver a handful of anecdotes about the filmmaking process. The alternate commentary is by some of the cast, including Hannigan and Adam Campbell. There is a more laid back and conversational commentary and they appear to be having fun while doing it. The third commentary is the most interesting though as it is done by two movie critics from the L.A. Weekly and the L.A. Daily News. Scott Foundas and Bob Strauss team up, each with differing opinions of the film to talk about what they liked and didn't like about it. These guys aren't very commentary savvy, but they are still kind of fun to listen to.

There are also a ton of deleted, extended and alternate scenes most of which are about on par with the rest of the film. The best of these is actually listed on the back and offers some improvisation between actors Fred Willard and Jennifer Coolidge. You'll also find a featurette on the making of the film, and some interviews with the cast that are set up 'press junket' style. Added to this are a look at some of the actor's audition tapes, a short but funny gag reel, a bizarre laugh track you can play along with the movie, and an actual 6-minute version of the film (for those on the go!). They also included a silly game where you answer questions to see one of the characters from the movie twist a cherry stem into a variety of shapes. The one feature I could not find, was one listed where the same character is supposed to be shown in some extended bikini-wearing dailies. However, in the Special Features section, you can highlight her bikini top to find an amusing Easter Egg.

Don’t get me wrong, "Date Movie" is funny, in that brainless kind of way and does offer quite a few laughs. It just isn't on par with the old "Airplane" movies that I love so dear.

Directed by: Aaron Selzter
Starring: Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Tony Cox, Fred Willard
Extras: Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Aaron Seltzer and Writer Jason Friedberg, Audio Commentary with the Cast, 12 Deleted/Extended Scenes, Andy's Poolside Extended Dailies, "On Dating" Featurette, Anti-Commentary by Film Critics Scott Foundas and Bob Strauss, Fox Movie Channel Presents "Making a Spoof", Set-Top Game, Audition Tapes, The Quickie - Date Movie in Six Minutes, Optional Laugh Track
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 5/30/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Website

We'll give Date Movie: Unrated a C.