Excessively piling on "Fifty Shades of Black" would be too easy. Of course it's not a good film; it's not meant to be. There is absolutely no way Marlon Wayans - the conductor behind these spoofs - believes he has made something of any quality, gross-out comedy or not.
Wayans has been around for some time but could have had a career just doing these parody flicks. He starred in "Scary Movie" and "Scary Movie 2," which kicked this sub-genre off and were actually somewhat clever. Like anything else in Hollywood, they couldn't just stop there and had to continue to make movie after movie (Wayans was not a part of the subsequent Scary Movies).
After "A Haunted House" and its sequel, Wayans reteams with director Michael Tiddes for "Fifty Shades of Black" which, if you haven't guessed, takes aim at the erotic literary - a term used loosely - juggernaut, "Fifty Shades of Grey". I have long given up on these spoof films, but "Fifty Shades of Black" I had to see. The whole idea and self-serious nature of the film adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey" was so laughable, a part of me knew I needed to see the spoof movie, as embarrassing as that is to say.
So, no, it's not very good. "Fifty Shades of Black" doesn't offer enough laughs because the gags are cheap and quite obvious throughout, sometimes repetitive but mostly unfunny. There are brief glimmers of inspired bits - even a half-chuckle or two - which I wouldn't dare to ruin should you want to check this movie out. Curiosity does get the best of all of us, doesn't it?
"Fifty Shades of Black" follows an identical trajectory of its source (or victim, if you will). Kali Hawk plays Hannah Steale, a shy and inexperienced college student, who is sent to profile a wealthy businessman named Christian Black (Wayans). From there, they form a relationship of specific tastes, trying to adapt to each other's different lifestyles the best they can.
Yes, I just described "Fifty Shades of Grey" but "Fifty Shades of Black" doesn't hold back from lampooning the nonsense that was created by E.L. James. With references to the exact book and movie adaptation, "Fifty Shades of Black" recognizes how ludicrous the relationship of Christian and Anastasia was, one bound by documents and non-disclosure agreements rather than chemistry or passion.
For that, I liked what "Fifty Shades of Black" tried to do and could have done cleverly, if these movies weren't so desperate to scrape the bottom of the barrel in the name of a few easy laughs. This is the territory when stepping into a Wayans spoof. Wayans will continue to make these films as long as Hollywood continues to churn out material that begs to be torn to shreds. You can mock and be crude but a desperate barrage of flat gags is not the way to win an audience over.
As much as I hate to say it, I laughed more at "Fifty Shades of Grey" and that wasn't even the point.
| Movie title | Fifty Shades of Black |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2016 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This spoof doesn't offer enough laughs because the gags are cheap and quite obvious throughout, sometimes repetitive but mostly unfunny. |
