"I dislike these filmmakers so much that I would personally kick them into the pit of death."
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It is so hard to sit through a film that annoys the audience rather than entertain them, but it is my job (as a film critic) after all and sometimes I have to sacrifice time and brain cells for the well-being of my readers. Unfortunately this is the case for Meet the Spartans which is a spoof—actually a distorted rip-off in my opinion—of the 2007 hit 300. This “comedy” is written and directed by the infamous Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer who as a team gave us previous nauseating exercises like Date Movie and Epic Movie—if this little fact doesn’t stop you from watching it, I’m not sure what will. And just like those films, these guys deliberately bombard us with painfully long, repetitive, offensive and unfunny spoofs of pop icons, movies, TV commercials and even MTV shows with no logic or continuity. Do they really hate us that much? They should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, I dislike these filmmakers so much that I would personally kick them into the pit of death.
Brief Intro Story:
Meet the Spartans has basically the same plot as 300. King Leonidas (Sean Maguire) is about to go to battle against the Persians who want to take Spartan—and make everybody their slaves. He visits the wise men to talk about strategy, but after listening to Ugly Betty’s prophecy (yes she is the film); they warn him about this battle and if he goes to fight, he will die. Leonidas doesn’t listen to them and with an army of just thirteen, he goes to battle.
Review:
Because of time and web space restrictions, it’s not even worth pointing out every flaw or unfunny moment of Meet the Spartans—which is basically every frame. But the bigger issue here is no laughing matter. It’s inexcusable how Friedberg and Seltzer deliberately insult us with stupidity and lack of imagination. They must learn that copying other people’s work, excessive displays of bodily fluids, gay references, or even making fun of celebrities—some of them who are going through very difficult times—are not funny elements for a film anymore. Not only these filmmakers need to be a bit more responsible and less cruel, they have to understand that moviegoers are spending $10 dollars nowadays and truly want to be entertained with legit spoofs. How stupid do they think we are? Will they continue making films like this? Perhaps after watching the box office numbers, they’ll think twice about creating another abomination. Only time will tell.
Perhaps I’m going too deep into a brand new social issue, but I cannot help to think why films like this (as terrible as they are) still have a little fan base. Are Friedberg and Seltzer to blame for this? Is it the media or just MTV? Most of the blame goes to the latest American “pop” culture that is going down the drain—which allows films like this to be made. Many teenagers don’t even know that they are being desensitized by all this media frenzy. It is a sad reality.
The Verdict:
I may sound old-fashioned by saying that true spoof films like Airplane and Naked Gun are long gone—heck! Even the first Scary Movie wasn’t that bad after all. Meet the Spartans is an unfunny and offensive affair where this “comedy” team of directors has reached a new low—I never thought this would be possible after their Date Movie. Please stay way from it or you’ll regret it.
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