Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMeet the Spartans (2008)
Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
Synopsis
‘Scary Movie’ duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer return with this spoof, filmed supposedly on the set of ‘300’, which parodies, amongst other notable productions, ‘The Matrix’, ‘Ugly Betty’, ‘The Departed’, ‘Anchorman’, ‘Deal or No Deal’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, and unsurprisingly, ‘300’ itself. Watch out for humorous ‘appearances’ from Britney Spears and President Bush.
Movie review
From Time Out London
After the deeply disposable genre send-ups ‘Date Movie’ and ‘Epic Movie’, double-threat comedy duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer turn their attention to a single movie, the digitally buffed-up historical slugfest ‘300’, for this virtually unendurable feature-length skit. One might have thought the original’s absurd chest-rippling machismo and cartoonish villainy funny enough in itself, an assessment this pitifully laughter-free farrago does little to alter. The Thermopylae-inspired plot remains the same in outline but the would-be humorous embellishment has little to offer beyond infantile obviousness.So, the Spartans in their leather briefs look a bit gay? Let’s have them prancing around to ‘I Will Survive’! Reckon the Spartan educational regime looks a bit tough? Let’s have some poor child beaten to a pulp for fun! And since the ‘300’-themed gags run dry pretty quickly, let’s fill the rest out with projectile vomiting, defecating giant penguins and lookalike japes involving Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and ‘American Idol’. Its relative brevity is a humanitarian gesture.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 1961 March 20-26 2008
User reviews of this film
-
- DavidJarvis said...
- Posted on Apr 03 2008 19:48 oh my god, why do these directors keep making these disastrous movies??? they are terrible and rushed, it took them 3 months to make this film! PURE CACK!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- poo bear said...
- Posted on Apr 03 2008 10:53 the film is amzing the best comedy ive ever watched
- Report as inappropriate
-
- its meh said...
-
Posted on Apr 02 2008 20:41
its a must c comedy proper funny mahn
it wis well koosht - Report as inappropriate
-
- Annie said...
- Posted on Apr 02 2008 17:25 INAPPROPRIATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Frannate said...
- Posted on Apr 02 2008 17:23 Personally this film was utter rubbish. I found it ever so grotesque. This film should be rated as a 15 AND NOT A 12A!!!!!! Person of 12 years old and under should not be seeing this poop.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- clare said...
- Posted on Apr 02 2008 16:47 this is the worst film I have seen in a long time, even my 13 year son who laughs at most things thought it was total and utter rubbish
- Report as inappropriate
-
- ingrid said...
- Posted on Apr 02 2008 16:31 the worst film i have seen in my life and definately not suitable for 12 year olds under
- Report as inappropriate
-
- lexy said...
- Posted on Apr 02 2008 09:55 the film was quality 5 star
- Report as inappropriate
-
- DACHI said...
- Posted on Apr 02 2008 09:54 This film is a piece of crap all they do is throw people into a black hole and take the micky out off other famous people
- Report as inappropriate
-
- BR SWFC said...
- Posted on Apr 01 2008 15:19 this film was so bad!! Biggest smile on my face whilst sat watching was when it ended. Completely anal.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- alex said...
-
Posted on Apr 01 2008 12:07
worst comedy ever
tries too hard to be funny - Report as inappropriate
-
- keef said...
- Posted on Mar 31 2008 20:50 The last line of Trevor Johnston's review is fantastic by the way. That's my idea of funny!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- keef said...
- Posted on Mar 31 2008 20:39 Anyone who gives this film more than 1 star (without a massive tongue in his or her cheek) must be clinically insane. It's a shame we can't give a negative rating.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Venters said...
- Posted on Mar 31 2008 16:28 Definitely the worst thing since tinned bread.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Conor said...
- Posted on Mar 31 2008 10:39 I thought the film was great i was laughing all way through. made Epic Movie look Crap
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
Cast: Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian, Kevin Sorbo, Diedrich Bader, Method Man, Jim Piddock, Nicole Parker, Ike Barinholtz, Crista Flanagan, Jareb Dauplaise, Travis Van Winkle full cast
Rated: 12A
Duration: 83 mins
UK Release: Mar 21 2008
US Release: Jan 25 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now