Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, and starring Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays, Jennifer Coolidge, Faune A. Chambers, Crispin Glover, Tony Cox, and Fred Willard. A parody of the epic film genre, the film references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men, Nacho Libre, and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, the latter of which also starred Penn.
Epic Movie was released by 20th Century Fox on January 26, 2007 and received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, with many deeming it as one of the worst films ever made. Despite this, it grossed $86.9 million against a $20 million budget.
Plot
Lucy finds that her adoptive father, a museum curator, has been attacked by Silas. Before dying, he gives clues that lead her to a "Golden Ticket" in a vending machine candy bar. Fellow orphans Edward, a disillusioned monk trainee; Susan, a displaced adopted girl; and Peter, a mutant at Mutant Academy who is often teased for his chicken-like wings, all find Golden Tickets. All four meet up at Willy's Chocolate Factory. Willy reveals his plot to use them all as a special ingredient in his treats.
Attempting to hide from the maniacal Willy, Lucy finds a wardrobe. On the other side, in the middle of a wintry forest, she finds Mr. Tumnus, who welcomes Lucy to Gnarnia and warns her of danger. The others follow Lucy to Gnarnia, and Edward meets the White Bitch. She convinces him to trap the other orphans in order to become the king of Gnarnia in her White Castle.
All four go to Tumnus' house, where they discover their relation to each other in a copy of the famous painting The Last Supper, and that the White Bitch killed their parents. They ally themselves with Harry Beaver, Tumnus' life partner, to defeat the White Bitch.
Edward sneaks off to the White Bitch's castle. When he refuses to reveal to her where the others are, she flashes him her breasts, hypnotizing him into giving up the information on the orphans, then imprisons him. The White Bitch sends Silas after the trio; Tumnus apparently sacrifices himself to ensure their safety.
Afterwards, the orphans meet a graying Harry Potter, along with a balding Ron Weasley and a pregnant Hermione Granger at Hogwarts. They all help Lucy, Susan, and Peter train for the war against the White Bitch, accidentally killing Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid in the process.
Captain Jack Swallows helps Edward escape, only for Edward to find out it was a ruse as Jack, the Bitch's old enemy, needs intelligence out of Edward.
Upon finishing their training, Lucy, Susan, and Peter head to the camp of Aslo, the rightful ruler of Gnarnia. Aslo agrees to help Edward and kills Silas in a duel, but while breaking Edward out, he is slain by the White Bitch. As the orphans have a pre-battle party with their allies, Susan gets drunk and vomits everywhere, disgusting their army enough that nobody shows up to help the orphans the next day. The four siblings engage the White Bitch in battle and all (except for Peter) are killed. Peter then finds a magic remote and uses its powers to revive his siblings.
Together, they kill the army, defeat the White Bitch, and stop her plan. Peter declares the White Bitch will receive a fair and just trial in the new Gnarnia, but Jack, struggling to balance on a runaway water wheel, accidentally crushes her to death. The four are crowned the new rulers of the land. Tumnus then shows up, having survived his battle. Decades later, the four now-elderly rulers find the wardrobe again and go through it. They appear moments after they had left, young again. They meet Borat, who congratulates them on a happy ending, but then, Jack's water wheel accidentally runs over the quartet, greatly injuring them. Borat then says his iconic "NOT!" as he turns around, claps his buttocks, and starts dancing before the credits roll.
Cast
Parodies
Films and TV shows
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) (main parody)
- The Da Vinci Code (2006)
- Nacho Libre (2006)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
- Snakes on a Plane (2006)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
- Borat (2006)
- Rocky III (1982)
- Scarface (1983)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
- Superman Returns (2006)
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
- Click (2006)
- MTV Cribs (2000–2006)
- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
- Punk'd (2003–2007)
- Chappelle's Show (2003)
- Saturday Night Live (2005) – "Lazy Sunday" song by The Lonely Island
- The Lord of the Rings (2001)
- Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
- Casino Royale (2006)
- V for Vendetta (2005)
Celebrities
Release
Home media
Epic Movie was released on DVD on May 22, 2007, in both unrated and theatrical versions, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. As of late 2009, 1,040,120 DVDs were sold, bringing in $16,807,388.
Reception
Box office
Epic Movie debuted at number one at the box office with a gross of $18.6 million over the opening weekend. As of May 8, 2007, the film has grossed $86,865,564, with $39,739,367 of that amount earned domestically. 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 response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval percentage of 2% based on 65 reviews and an average rating of 2.90/10, with the critics consensus reading: "A crude comedy with nothing new or insightful to say about the subjects it satirizes." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 17 out of 100 based on 17 critic reviews, meaning "Overwhelming Dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.
A. O. Scott of The New York Times called the film "irreverent and also appreciative, dragging its satiric prey down to the lowest pop-cultural denominator" and added, "The humor is coarse and occasionally funny. The archly bombastic score... is the only thing you might call witty. But happily, Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard show up... to add some easy, demented class." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle thought "only a complete idiot could think Epic Movie is remotely funny or worth making at all." Describing it as "so bereft of anything resembling wit or inspiration", he wondered, "What were the perpetrators, uh, filmmakers, thinking?" In the Los Angeles Times, Alex Chun called the film "nothing more than a disjointed series of scenes and references cobbled together as a backdrop for sophomoric humor." Ronnie Scheib of Variety said it was "epically unfunny" and "unlikely to join the list of blockbusters it lampoons." The Radio Times said "There's very little that's epic about this senseless parody, but then there's very little that's funny about it, either... It's mind-numbingly, tediously unamusing and is so devoid of imagination it even parodies self-mocking films." The Chicago Reader described the film as being "the cinematic equivalent of a tapeworm", while in his review for The Guardian, John Patterson wrote that "Epic Movie is an epic catastrophe, or an artistic failure of epic proportions, or even an Emetic Piece of Insufferable Crap". The Times expressed surprise that "Penn would stoop so low".
Accolades
Epic Movie was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards at the 28th ceremony: Worst Remake or Rip-off, Worst Supporting Actress (Carmen Electra), and Worst Screenplay (Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer).