Review: Way Unfunny Dance Flick Steps Up, Falls Flat

Yet another Wayans-brand "spoof" tries to parody dancicals--hilarity does not, in any way, ensue

Review in a Hurry: The recent dancicals fad has lead to the inevitable Wayans-brand spoof, packed with five-minutes-ago gags. Scary Movie regular Anna Faris is now too famous for this, so newcomer Shoshana Bush is Megan, the naive white girl trying to fit in with the mostly black student body at Musical High School. She falls for a dude named Thomas Uncles (Damon Wayans Jr.), and hilarity is supposed to ensue. But it really just doesn't.

The Bigger Picture: The main story arc is lifted from Save the Last Dance, but every movie with angsty, groovin' teens and hip-hop playahs is represented: the Step Up movies, the High School Musical series and a splash of Flashdance, Fame, Hairspray, Stomp the Yard. And only because it's popular right now, Twilight.

This style of comedy really hasn't worked since the first Scary Movie, but perhaps the problem is less about the jokes and more about the lack of material. After the third or fourth dance battle ending with somebody's head sent through the floorboards, it's clear that the Wayans family (Damien directs, and he, Shawn, Keenan Ivory, Craig and Marlon all have writing credits) only brought enough for a few In Living Color skits.

Since there are only so many times you can hear someone talk about "stomping the yard so they can step up in this high school musical," the film resorts to tossing in as many celebrity gags as possible into 83 minutes. A scene involving a hit-and-run shows off the license plates of Lindsay, Britney and finally, Halle Berry, who gets out of her car in her Catwoman suit. Of course, it's not the real Halle...and talk about an old gag.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Anyone who busts a gut at the comedy stylings of the Wayans brothers knows what to expect by now. And we do know people who actually loved White Chicks so, like, enjoy yourselves.