Dance Flick (2009)

Directed by: Damien Dante Wayans | 83 minutes | action, comedy | Actors: Shoshana Bush, Damon Wayans Jr., Essence Atkins, Affion Crockett, Luis Dalmasy Jr., Chris Elliott, Christina Murphy, David Alan Grier, Amy Sedaris, Kim Wayans, Lauren Bowles, Brennan Hillard, George Gore II, Chelsea Makela, Ross Thomas, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Sufe Bradshaw, Yves Lola St. Vil, Kevin Knotts, Ellia English, Craig Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans

Let’s talk about genre parodies.

While it may seem simple, parodying a genre is a craft of its own. A creator must fully understand the conventions and idiosyncrasies of a genre and then reverse them, place them in a silly context or follow them with deadly seriousness. At least as important is that the jokes are sharp and original. Whoever makes fun of one genre cannot fall short in his own genre (comedy). Another thing a creator shouldn’t do is parody other comedies. A genre that is not serious in itself needs no further relativization.

Why this endless introduction? Because he explains why the Wayans brothers’ latest comedy is so staggeringly weak. Although ‘Dance Flick’ bills itself as a parody of the dance genre, it has little to do with a real parody. Well-known movie scenes are re-enacted, spiced up with a joke that has nothing to do with the genre. A dancer jumps to the left and farts, he jumps to the right and screams like a girl, he jumps down and falls through the floor, he jumps up and doesn’t come back. All the jokes can be traced back to these four categories (vulgar, cheesy, overdone, absurd) so that the already lame humor becomes very predictable over time. In addition, some jokes are particularly rude and others look suspiciously familiar.

What is surprising about this comedy is that the dance genre is not the only thing the brothers ‘parody’. We see musicals (‘Hair Spray’, ‘Dream Girls’), action movies (‘Cat Woman’) and art house movies (‘Black Snake Moan’). Unfortunately, the Wayans are smart enough to also poke fun at a few comedies (‘Little Miss Sunshine’, ‘Super Bad’), which are more humorous in their first minute than this one in 90 minutes.

With ‘Dance Flick’ the Wayansclan shows its worst side. This is not a parody, not a comedy, hardly a movie. And poorly acted too. The only successful joke is that you have to pay to see this movie. As you leave the cinema, you can hear the Wayans family laughing in the distance.