Epic Movie

Infobox Film
name = Epic Movie


caption = Promotional movie poster for "Epic Movie".
director = Jason Friedberg
Aaron Seltzer
producer = Paul Schiff
writer = Jason Friedberg
Aaron Seltzer
starring = Kal Penn
Jennifer Coolidge
Adam Campbell
Faune A. Chambers
Darrell Hammond
Jayma Mays
Fred Willard
Tim Lockwood
David Lehre
distributor = Regency(International)
Warner Independent Pictures (US)
released = January 26, 2007
runtime = Original theatrical version
85 min.
Unrated version
92 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $20 million
gross = $39,737,645 (USA)
preceded_by =
followed_by = "Meet the Spartans"
amg_id = 1:376693
imdb_id = 0799949
website = http://www.epicmoviethemovie.com

"Epic Movie" is a 2007 American film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It was produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to "Date Movie" and the "Scary Movie" series. The film mostly references "".

Plot

Four orphans each receive a Golden Ticket, each via a different film "parody" - Lucy ("The Da Vinci Code"), Edward ("Nacho Libre"), Susan ("Snakes on a Plane") and Peter ("X-Men" trilogy). This ticket entitles them to visit the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"). Willy tells the kids that the secret ingredient in his chocolate is human parts, and he plans to keep the orphans in his factory to use them for his chocolate. He succeeds in getting the ingredients (Lucy's sweet "heart", Edward's "peanuts", Peter's "surprise" tooth and Susan's lemon "head") to the tune of "Fergalicious". He then brands Peter's backside, and is now holding the orphans captive. Lucy finds a wardrobe ("") and after a series of items fall on her along with a woman (in the unrated movie she is naked) she climbs inside to meet Mr. Tumnus.

He welcomes Lucy to "Gnarnia" by showing her around his home (as a "parody" of "Cribs") and warns her of the grave danger she is in. Edward follows Lucy to Gnarnia and meets the White Bitch commenting with awe "Stifler's Mom..." (referring to her past role in the "American Pie" series). She convinces him to trap the other orphans. Everyone makes his or her way to Mr. Tumnus' house, where the orphans discover that they are all related to one another, and that the White Bitch killed their parents. Edward goes to see the White Bitch at her castle and realizes all she cares about are the other orphans. He realizes that she is evil and refuses to tell her where the other orphans are. Unfortunately, the White Bitch flashes him her chest, and Edward, transfixed, gives her the information unhesitatingly. He is then "Punk'd", and locked in the castle prison. Harry Beaver sends Lucy, Susan, and Peter out of the winter scenery and into the woods to train for the war. They end up meeting a graying Harry Potter, along with a balding Ron Weasley, and a pregnant Hermione Granger. They all help Lucy, Susan, and Peter train for the war. Back at the White Bitch's castle, as she prepares a WMD that will create a new continent for her and her followers to live on, her assistant hands her a computer with her MySpace on the screen with an IM from Silas saying that the kids have escaped. Edward tries to find ways to break out of prison, and does so with the help of Captain Jack Swallows. Swallows sells Edward to the White Bitch and reveals that the ship they are on is an amusement park ride.

The White Bitch traps Edward in a prison and then kills Jack Swallows. Edwards grabs the WMD from her but accidentally drops it into the water. Upon finishing their training, Lucy, Susan, and Peter, head to the camp of Aslo. There they encounter James Bond, Chewbacca, and Borat. The entire camp volunteers to help the orphans fight the White Bitch's army, including Lord of the Rings characters and Peter's X-Men classmates. Aslo agrees to help the orphans on the condition that he may seduce them, including Peter. After encountering the White Bitch, Aslo is quickly killed off. Upon facing the White Bitch's army, the foursome realize they are outnumbered because nobody came to help them (because Susan vomited on them the previous night after drinking). The worst part of the White Bitch's plan is revealed as she forces the home audience to suffer brain damage while watching Davey Jones play Miss New Booty on a turntable. As Peter is about to be struck down, he grabs a remote off the ground, which he uses to pause time (Click). He heals the injuries of his comrades, and the orphans proceed to kill the army as it is paused. When the army is destroyed, Edward uses the remote's TiVo menu to erase the White Bitch's evil plot. Before they can kill the White Bitch, Peter stops them and makes a speech about how they will give her a fair trial, yet before the lecture is over, Jack Swallows runs the White Bitch over with his cartwheel. Harry Beaver promotes all four of them Kings and Queens of Gnarnia. They are each described: Peter "the heroic", Edward "the loyal", Susan "the just", and, Lucy, the "dumb-shit". They rule Gnarnia for many years, and in their old age, they discover the wardrobe once again, and walk through it, becoming young again. Borat appears to congratulate them, but Jack Swallows' cartwheel runs them over, and then he says "NOT!". Then he turns around and smacks his own behind and then the credits roll. In the Unrated, Longer Version of the movie, Willy Wonka comes in and says "I told you it was going to be an epic adventure" and then the Oompa-Loompas come in and start singing the Willy Wonka theme song. Willy Wonka then goes in the wardrobe and puts out a (do not disturb) sign that refers to the girl in the wardrobe. Then, Jack Swallows comes in with the wheel and crushes the Oompa-Loompas and the orphans/rulers of Gnarnia.

Cast

Box office

"Epic Movie" debuted at #1 at the box office with a gross of $18.6 million over the opening weekend. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/epic_movie/numbers.php Epic Movie - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes ] ] As of May 8, 2007 the film has grossed $86.8 million, with $39,739,367 of that amount earned domestically, making the film another reasonable financial success in the "(genre) Movie" films, despite negative reviews from critics. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=epicmovie.htm Epic Movie (2007) ] ] The film was an economic success for its producers not least because it had a comparatively low budget, estimated at $20 million (the same as "Date Movie").

Critical reception

Despite the film's success at the box office, it generally received extremely negative reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that out of 56 user reviews, all but one were negative, for a "Rotten" rating of 2%. As of August 21, 2008, the movie has 35,083 user ratings on IMDb, which give a total rating of 2.2 out of 10, putting it at #68 on IMDb's "Bottom 100" list.

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer were nominated for the "Worst Screenplay" award at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards. Additionally, the film garnered nominations in two other categories.

References

External links

* [http://www.epicmoviethemovie.com "Epic Movie" official site]
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* [http://www.myspace.com/epicmovie Epic Movie Myspace]
* [http://movies.ign.com/objects/867/867062.html "Epic Movie" at IGN.com]
* [http://www.comingsoon.net/cgi-bin/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Comedy/Epic_Movie "Epic Movie" production stills]
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/epic_movie/numbers.php box office]
* [http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Epic_Movie_2007.aspx "Epic Movie" at AgonyBooth.com]

Box Office Leaders USA
before = Stomp the Yard
date=January 28
year = 2007
after = The Messengers