Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 29, 2005 | | Summary | Funny movie but directors cut??? | Content
 | I really enjoy this movie and I owned the original DVD before this directors cut, but I lost it in a move so when I was looking to get it back I found this edition. I was happy because at least I felt like I wasn't paying for the same thing. Well if you have the original and if you have watched the deleted scenes, then basically you have watched the directors cut. They just put all the deleted scenes into the original version. There are a couple of added bonus features like guess your teen movie quiz and a short skit with Jenny McCarthy that is kinda funny, but that is about it. I give this 5 stars because I really enjoy this movie, but if you have the original DVD don't buy this version, your not buying anything new. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 18, 2005 | | Summary | Not Another Unrated Extended Director's Cut | Content
| If there was ever a movie that did not need an extended cut this is the one. This type of full-on parody is bound to miss in places. 'Not Another Teen Movie' has about the same number of never-ending jokes as 'Airplane', with a much lower hit to miss ratio. The orginal DVD included a dozen of worse misses as deleted scenes and the movie would have been better if about 50 of the included scenes had made the deleted category instead. the rest belongs with the deleted scenes. The original cut must have been a post-production nightmare as the editor found scene after scene that just didn't work but was forced to include one horrible segment after another just to build up the running time. The extended cut not only includes all the original cut's weak stuff but supplements it with the mega-garbage that was originally trimmed. So save your money and stay with the cheaper and SHORTER version-you won't be missing anything worth viewing unless you want it to torture your friends.
To be completely fair this movie did not stand much of a chance. The teen movies they go after do not lend themselves to this treatment ('Can't Hardly Wait' is already satirical).
Instead of being clever, these filmmakers accomplish little more than recycling copycat material from a host of teen films they think they are skewering in a cool fashion. You soon pick up on a lot of negative energy from the cast, they just don't seem to be getting much enjoyment from working with this material, there is no spontaneous merriment.
It is not a 'little' movie, Gallen had a large budget and assembled a professional crew who shot a technically (camera-audio-direction) sound film. But when your pre-production phase can't manage more than a few hundred regurgitated inside jokes and clueless dopey references that fly over the head of the targeted demographics, no amount of competent production talent can save the day.
A good way to make an objective assessment of a project like this is to imagine which of the participants would actually want this to be a part of their resume. Aside from the camera, audio, and wardrobe people it is a career breaker. A notable exception is Mia Kirshner, who was able to turn what is arguably the movie's worst role into a showcase of her considerable talent as actress. Her part (the incestuous mean girl) is poorly written and totally unfunny yet she finds a way to play it so it actually works. Talk about turning adversity into opportunity.
If watching Mia is not enough reason to sit through the film there is also Chyler Leigh and Jaime Pressly-even if their acting is average their decorative qualities are exceptional. One of the few continuing inside jokes that actually works is how Leigh's 'plain Janey' character in glasses and ponytail (referred to as 'the pretty ugly girl') is actually more beautiful than the glamorous beauty into which she is transformed. And Pressly's 'Bring It On' parody is simply the funniest (and cleverest) scene in the film as she denies stealing a cheer from the black girls and then leads the white girls in the stolen routine with words unchanged: 'We are the North Compton Wildcats, we're black and we know it, we shake our big booties and show it, we ain't white, we definitely ain't white!'
At 'John Hughes High School' (shot at same school as "She's the One") this direction-less parody plays on in the 'Anthony Michael Dining Hall' and on the field of 'Harry Dean Stadium' (these names are some of the funnier stuff). A bet is made on the metamorphosis of the "Ugly Duckling Girl Who's Really a Babe Underneath" (Chyler Leigh). Leigh has two especially funny scenes, one where she is frantically painting and another where her entire extended family blunders into her bedroom while she is using a vibrator (much like the zipper scene in 'What about Mary').
In the movie's second funniest scene, a naked foreign exchange student (based on Shannon Elizabeth's character in 'American Pie') speaks in her native language and the subtitles work their way around her breasts so as to NOT obscure her nipples. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 01, 2005 | | Summary | FLAWED BUT FUN | Content
| While Not Another Teen Movie has its weaknesses, it still survives as both an homage and a decent parody.
The movie has everything from the cool jock who's learned the error of his ways to the three nerds trying to get laid, the token black guy, and the mean-spirited cheerleader.
Jake makes a bet with his friends that Janie can be homecoming queen. They fall for each other, but of course, the cruel mean girl, the other cool guy, and the nerdy best friend will try to stop that from happening.
The movie plays into all the cliches of the most popular teen movies like Pretty in Pink, She's All That, Fast Times at Ridgmont High, The Breakfast Club, Varsity Blues and Sixteen Candles, to the lesser known archetypes such as Never Been Kissed, Cruel Intentions, and even Better Off Dead.
The movie has its strengths such as a funny script, good performances, and some originality. The foreign exchange girl, for example, struts around fully naked. Even more funny is that one of the three nerds who vow to get laid tries to be an oriental person--making a stab at the wigger culture found in many high schools these days. Another good scene is when Jake is trying to win Janie and he uses a song with her name in it--and all he can think of is Janie's Got a Gun by Aerosmith. Another originality is the wise janitor played by Mr. T, and a cheerleader with Turrette's Syndrome.
Another strength is that the movid does not rely on gross-out humor such as the abysmally disgusting Scary Movie or Road Trip. The laughs come from situations, dialogue, and unexpected twists.
However, the movie has the biggest weakness of most parodies of the last five to seven years: it struggles to be its own movie.
At one time, parodies like Airplane, Top Secret, and the original Police Academy were able to have its own plot and story without using the exact same storyline--and in some cases characters. The character of Ricky is an obvious rip-off of Duckey from Pretty in Pink.
This leads to copying scenes not only in shot and style, but also in lines. One scene has three guys in Saturday Detention (with a cameo by the principal from the Breakfast Club). Most the dialogue is line-for-line of what was said in the classic scene from 21 years ago.
Finally, a cameo by Molly Ringwald works to TELL us what movie is being parodied. While the cameo makes us smile, the lines written for her make you think the screenwriters assumed the audience was too stupid to know what was being lampooned.
True, it's not the perfect parody, but a cut above average. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | Unrated DVD- detailed reveiw/guide | Content
| Overall notes of the new unrated cut vs the orginal DVD -
-I count 8 of the 18 deleted scenes were incorporated in this version- the rest are missing and not in extras either, as the 'deleted scenes' extra was not
included;
-as advertised there is 10-11 minutes of new footage not found anywhere on the original DVD;
-cast commentary is not available - most surely left off cause it wouldn't sync with this new, longer version of the movie;
-I believe all the Easter eggs are there- I know the Mia-old lady kissing scenes are there and Chyler's wedding proposal;
-all the other extras are there from the orignal DVD - the omissions are the deleted scenes and the cast commentary mentioned above;
-very nice DVD case design, and also new music and a new menu choice design at beginning of the DVD;
More detailed analysis:
1) The 8 deleted scenes incorporated:
areola and janey go to class;
the bbq;
janey's transformation (with Mia);
Jake and Father;
Ricky at Party;
Pillow fight;
bruce and areola at prom;
ricky at prom;
The Good:
-you get high-res versions of the above scenes never before available;
The Bad:
-is an absolute crime the other 10 were not not still included as extras- some of the best scenes on the orginal DVD;
2) Some notes on the extra 10-11 minutes:
a) Some scene additions or major length additions:
-Janey-Ricky scene in hallway discussing the prom;
-Mitch and friends at cafe discussing sex;
-Jake and Ricky meet at Janey's house when chasing her at the end;
-Footloose parody scene at the prom;
-some exta 'shower footage' of the girls Mitch and his friends are looking at through the vent;
-little extra footage at football game and at the major party scene;
b) you will notice all kinds of extra few second splices right from the beginning all through-out the movie- too many to mention them all but a few examples-
-early scene when they all arrive at school- extra footage of Priscilla walking down hall- exta footage of them all walking over 'fat guy'; an extra comment
by the guy who shows up 3-4 times in the movie and makes sarcastc remarks;
-girl having sex against window at school says '**** me harder' instead of 'love me harder' (Chyler Leigh's voice btw);
-Mia Kirsher sucks on her brother's hand in their 'bedroom scene';
-dozens more like above;
The Good:
If you're a NATM fanatic you'll enjoy the xtra shots/footage gernally;
The Bad:
-most of the xtra footage is completely forgettable and was edited for a reason;
Overall:
If you can only buy 1 DVD- I'd highly recommend the orginal- has all the 18 cut scenes which are generally superior to the added footage and has the good cast
commenatary. Also the original edited movie cut is better than this one. But if you're a fanatic or collector, I'm sure you'll want this version as well though - getting high-res versions of the 8 previously cut scenes is nice and a few of the added scenes are funny or sexy. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 27, 2005 | | Summary | UNRATED DVD... sorta weak | Content
| I love this movie. This was one of the funniest movies that has come along in years. Raunchy and no holes barred humor that reminded me of the days when humor was limitless and UNCENSORED!!
So, last night when I saw that the UNRATED DVD was available, I pounced on it and watched it alongside the original DVD (on a seperate TV) to see what they added.
Well... they added quite a bit. About 10 minutes more. Yet, NONE of it deserved to be deemed UNRATED by any means. Just a couple of added scenes (nothing dirty or risky at all), and some extended scenes (again... nothing dirty or risky at all). Fluffy kinda scenes.
Actually... most were unimportant enough that they deserved to be cut from the original version.
BONUSES for buying the DVD... there are some new SPECIAL FEATURES... like 3 brand new behind the scenes featurettes that are kinda cool. Seeing the cast talk about the movie and seeing RON LESTER THIN!!!!! WHOA!!!
Chyler's bedroom dance and her party dance aren't even included anywhere. On the previous DVD it was in the deleted scenes... it wasn't in the movie and there are no deleted scenes on this edition.
Don't get me wrong. It's still the same movie + some. But the DVD as a package is probably one of the WEAKEST UNRATED CUTS of a movie I've ever seen... maybe it's because they left all the dirty stuff in the original cut that they leave anything dirty out???
The movie is a 4 star movie.
This DVD is only 3 stars. |
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