Scary Movie 5 Parent Guide

Parent Movie Review
by Kerry Bennett

Seven years after its last installment, the Scary Movie franchise is back with a new offering, Scary Movie 5. But unlike aged cheese or beef, time has done nothing to improve the palatability of this gross fest. Even Anna Farris, who had her breakthrough film debut as Cindy Campbell in Scary Movie and went on to star in the next three films, isn’t reprising her role.

Instead the blonde female lead is played by Ashley Tisdale who may be best known for her recurring role in the TV series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody or the High School Musical movies. Like the spoofs Date Movie and Epic Movie that take stabs at romantic comedies and Hollywood hits, the Scary Movie films purport to parody horror films, in this case Mama, The Cabin in the Woods and Paranormal Activity along with a host of other recent releases like The Black Swan, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Inception, Evil Dead and the Madea movies. But what Scary Movie 5 ends up being is little more than an excuse for disgusting depictions of bathroom humor, the comedic portrayal of illegal drug use and ongoing crude sexual content (including Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan wrestling under the sheets, a lesbian encounter involving food items and a vacuum cleaner used as a sexual stimulator for an animal).

Parodies, at least clever ones, require intelligent writing and creative use of the original content. Neither of these is apparent in this script that involves flying excrement and a baby with his head on fire. A spoof also needs audiences to be acquainted with the material it is lampooning. As neither Mama or Evil Dead have released to home video yet, fewer viewers may be familiar with the story lines that dominate this script.

While the first two films in the franchise earned R-ratings, the next three all made it under the PG-13 wire, giving even more young audience members access to them without parental approval. But don’t let the lighter rating fool you. Viewers deserve better than jokes about bulimia, water boarding tactics and below-the-belt anatomy. Spewing vomit, spurting blood and implied incest don’t make the grade either.

Although the tag line for the first film promised “No mercy. No shame. No sequel”, the second film’s tagline just read shamelessly, “We lied.” . And there is doubtless little future mercy to be expected either. With a production cost of only $20 million dollars, it’s a good bet Scary Movie 5 won’t be the last in the series. Especially if this production follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, which earned $157 million, $71 million, $110 million and $90 million respectively.

But after sitting through 89 painful minutes of crude, lowbrow jokes, one has to wonder what perverse messages these films send to teens about sexuality, relationships and quality humor. And why a new generation of young people will line up at the box office to see them.

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee. Starring Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Ashley Tisdale, Kate Walsh. Running time: 89 minutes. Theatrical release April 12, 2013. Updated July 17, 2017

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.

Scary Movie 5
Rating & Content Info

Why is Scary Movie 5 rated PG-13? Scary Movie 5 is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug material, partial nudity, comic violence and gore.

Violence: A woman unintentionally smashes a baby’s head against the wall. Later the baby’s head catches fire. Characters point guns at one another. A child pushes a popsicle stick up her rectum. A child uses water-boarding tactics on her doll. Characters punch, slap and kick others. A character rips a chicken’s head off and the blood sprays around a room. A character is hit in the head with a heavy pan and electrocuted. He falls from a window and chokes on a small item. A car blows up. A man is hit and run over by a car. A man is run over by a lawn mower. Apes escape and attack people in the street. Blood spews as characters cut off their own arms and legs with a saw. A character slices her tongue in half. A shark attacks a person.

Sexual Content: A character prepares to make a sex tape. Frequent jokes about male anatomy, sexual stimulation, lesbian sexual activity and sexual movements are used throughout the film. Characters are kicked in the groin. Crude comments are made about sex acts. A crude depiction of childbirth is shown. A character urinates on her phone while taking a home pregnancy test. Pole dancing and other suggestive dance moves are shown. Sexual movement is depicted by characters under sheets. A man’s bare buttocks are shown. Appliances and household items are used as sexual stimulators. Incest is implied. A character is shown in a bikini. A character comments about the number of sexual partners she has. An adulterous woman accuses her husband of sleeping with a co-worker. A character’s crotch catches fire. Crass depictions of fondling are shown along with exaggerated portrayals of female anatomy. Characters visit porn sites.

Language: The script includes one use of a sexual expletive, frequent mild and moderate profanities, racial slurs and pervasive crude sexual language.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters talk about being “stoners.” Women are high after taking pills at a club. A character smokes and drinks on the job. A character drinks mouthwash. Characters snort drugs.

Other: Frequent crude depictions of excrement, toilet use, and flatulence are included. Characters stick items (including another person’s toothbrush) up the rectums of a child and dog. Crude anatomical jokes are prevalent. Irreverent depictions of religion and religious rituals are shown. A comedic depiction of bulimic purging is shown. A character makes food items out of excrement.

Page last updated July 17, 2017