When the trailer for this film first dropped, some people were put off by a joke in which a person is attacked on a subway and a bystander identifies that person as a "she." The person being attacked corrects the bystander by saying the pronouns are actually "they/them." Critics were put off by saying that the joke wasn't funny because it seemed as if the joke was punching down on nonbinary or trans-people. Marlon Wayans who is the writer, producer, and star has said that he has a transgender child. Therefore, I was willing to give Wayans the benefit of the doubt and didn't assume that he was punching down. Having now seen the full film, it's clear that he is punching down or whoever wrote that specific joke is punching down. I thought the joke was going to be aimed at people who are transphobic or those who consider themselves anti-woke or right-wing. Marlon Wayans might have a different interpretation, but the scene is literally punching down, or stabbing down, on a nonbinary or possibly trans-person.
Going back to the original Scary Movie (2000), I never saw this franchise as homophobic. That first film in this franchise had a gay character, a closeted one, named Ray, played by Shawn Wayans, the actual brother to Marlon Wayans, as well as the co-writer, co-producer, and co-star, of this film, as well as that 2000 flick. The joke about Ray is not that he's gay and that's bad or something that should be stabbed. The joke is that his character is closeted and not allowed to be his authentic self publicly or openly. The joke is actually aimed at homophobia. The character of Ray does get stabbed but not due to his sexuality. The nonbinary character here on the subway seemingly is stabbed due to their gender pronouns. Whether or not someone or the Wayans brothers think it's funny doesn't take away that it is punching down. One could argue that this film is a spoof of slasher flicks, so people getting slashed or killed is part of the game, and the argument isn't that LGBTQ people can't be slashed or killed in this genre. What's arguable is the motive those characters take. The Wayans could argue that the transphobic or homophobic motives being spotlighted are being spotlighted because they're being satirized, and that's the point.
Punching down though could be considered an underlying theme here. Marlon Wayans is 53-years-old. He's part of Generation X, which is an age-group that is getting on in age. As people age, they literally start to look down and maybe punch down to younger generations. In this case, the target for Wayans is likely Generation Z or Gen Alpha, the age-group that grew up on social media and what could be considered the "woke" generation. Obviously, people on the right mock that woke generation but it's also a generation that's coming up in the wake of things like the "manosphere" and media that also pushes right-wing and anti-woke ideologies. It could be that the Wayans are putting all those things in a blender and is feeding it to us in one big, sloppy mix. They might not be necessarily taking a side or expressing even a point of view, other than anything that young people do or are advocating is silly or dumb. If the Wayans advocate for anything, they advocate for the smoking of marijuana, which is a consistent gag. Every scene, particularly every scene with Marlon Wayans' character of Shorty Meeks, certainly advocates for more weed smoking or pot use in some way.
Anna Faris returns, reprising her role of Cindy Campbell from the first four films of this Scary Movie franchise. The plot of the 2000 film was one that mimicked the plot from Wes Craven's Scream (1996). It was a parody of that particular slasher flick, which was itself a parody of slasher flicks. The Wayans simply injected a lot of rude and toilet humor, making it more of a sex farce than anything else. However, the Wayans also took the opportunity to spoof other films that were popular in that period, that of the late 90's, including the action flick, The Matrix (1999). This film is no different. The plot mimics the plot of Scream (2022), which is the fifth film in that series. It also incorporates plot elements from Scream VI (2023) and even a reference to Scream 7 (2026).
The Wayans were writers and producers of Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2 (2001). However, they were famously kicked off the franchise. Scary Movie 3 (2003), which featured Anthony Anderson and Kevin Hart, and Scary Movie 4 (2006), which featured Shaquille O'Neal, were both made without the Wayans' involvement. Faris was in both of those films. Yet, Scary Movie 5 (2013) was made without Faris' involvement. The Wayans in particular have been off the franchise for over 20 years. As such, there's a lot of entertainment that has come and gone for them to spoof. They do try to keep the spoofs and the references relatively recent. There are spoofs or references to John Wick (2014), Terrifier (2016), Get Out (2017), Candyman (2021), Smile (2022), the TV series Wednesday (2022), The Substance (2024), Nosferatu (2024), as well as last year's hits, including Sinners (2025), KPop Demon Hunters (2025), Weapons (2025) and One Battle After Another (2025). Apparently, there were some recent re-shoots in order to include those references to last year's movies, as well as a reference to this year's Michael (2026).
A lot of those spoofs or references don't offer a unique perspective or comment on them in any real insightful or clever way. A lot of it is injecting Black people into those scenarios and playing off racial stereotypes. Often, it's just a way for Marlon Wayans to make yet another weed joke, underscoring how his character simply loves to smoke it and get high. This franchise could be Wayans' stoner comedy series that could be paired with something like Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). However, that 2004 stoner comedy actually has characters for whom one cares and can get invested. The Wayans have no real interest in character development or anything like that here. This film, as many of the previous, is basically a series of SNL-like sketches strung together with Faris and Regina Hall who reprises her role of Brenda Meeks being the two bright spots and funniest things in this film.
Like the ending to the 2000 entry, the ending here is basically an excuse for the Wayans to air their grievances about Hollywood and their careers in it, especially since they were dropped from the franchise 20 years ago. They've held onto a grudge and they certainly let you know about it. This film though provides a platform for something that is rare in Hollywood, spoof and critique of Black culture and Black cinema. However, unlike someone, such as Boots Riley, the Wayans feel like they really are pulling their punches here. They have Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall in this film. Both Taylor and Hall were in the Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another. The online discourse about that film did have some serious critiques about the depiction of Black women. The Wayans don't touch any of those critiques in the slightest.
They do make a joke about Kevin Hart, but only in that he didn't agree to appear in this film. Back in 2018, it was announced that Hart would host the 91st Academy Awards. He was dropped after social media posts he made back in 2010 and 2011 that were homophobic got exposed in the press. Hart said he had changed in the eight years since that social media post. However, Hart had a gay scene in Scary Movie 3, which means he made those homophobic tweets after doing that film. Referencing that in this feature would have been more interesting, instead of just complaining that Hart didn't agree to appear here at all. Hart was also involved with the Riyadh Comedy Festival in 2025, which also drew a lot of criticism. Doing a joke about that would have been sharper or more pointed rather than the toothless comment that is made instead. I know the Wayans can be sharp in their jokes, but being sharp in any way doesn't seem to be their goal here.
Rated R for crude sexual content, graphic nudity, strong violence, drug content, and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 36 mins.
In theaters.
