After flashing a dismal move that would make “Dancing With the Stars” judge Len Goodman weep uncontrollably, the emcee in the Wayans brothers’ latest parody, “Dance Flick,” holds his nose and proclaims, “That’s not just bad. That’s everything-on-the-CW bad.”

What the character should have said was that the intentionally bad dancing was way worse (which is to say, funnier) than just about any of the sorry sketches found in the proliferation of parody movies that arrived after the Wayans’ deadly funny “Scary Movie” back in 2000.

The Wayans had nothing to do with those fatigued exercises in tedium (“Date Movie,” “Epic Movie,” etc.), but the assumption remains that they did, tainting “Dance Flick” by association. But this send-up, created in large part by new-generation family members Damon Jr., Craig and Damien Dante Wayans, possesses a more nimble comic footing. We’ll stop short of calling it graceful, given that the movie’s second joke involves a dance competitor sticking his head up his behind.

Yes, it’s that kind of comedy, a buzz saw grinding its way through formulas found in such recent dance movies as “Step Up,” “Stomp the Yard” and “You Got Served,” not to mention such “classics” as “Flashdance” and “Fame.” The latter comes into play when a Zac Efron-styled high school student makes like Irene Cara and sings not about living forever, but coming out with . . . um . . . pride.

Efron should probably pass on seeing this one, likewise Halle Berry, whose persona sets one of the “plot” points in motion with a gruesome hit-and-run accident. For these new Wayans, every scene can be improved by adding a violent beating. Example: A Ray Charles stand-in shows up, ostensibly only to spill hot coffee in his mother’s lap. (Yes, he hits the road, Jack.)

The miss-and-hit parodies score best when focusing on the Julia Stiles-styled girl next door (Shoshana Bush) chasing her dream of becoming a ballet dancer while attending Musical High. It’s not in the Wayans’ family makeup to develop an actual plot with connective tissue, but had they stayed within the school’s corridors, they could have had a lot more fun with Marlon Wayans’ aptly named drama teacher Mr. Moody and the vindictive girls gym instructor (Heather McDonald), whose name, like most of the movie’s humor, we dare not speak.

Cast & Crew:

Genre: Action, Comedy

Starring: Affion Crockett, Craig Wayans, Damon Wayans Jr., Essence Atkins, Shoshana Bush,

Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans

Producer: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Shawn Wayans

Writer: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans

Click here to visit Dance Flick Photo Gallery

Related Content

• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Hollywood Teaser

Tags: Affion Crockett, Craig Wayans, Damon Wayans Jr., Dance Flick, Dance Flick - English, Dance Flick - English Movie, Dance Flick - English Movie Review, Dance Flick - English Review, Dance Flick - Movie, Dance Flick - Movie Review, Dance Flick - Review, Dance Flick film review, Dance Flick hollywood film review, Dance Flick hollywood movie review, Dance Flick hollywood review, english Dance Flick film review, english Dance Flick movie review, english film Dance Flick review, english movie Dance Flick review, Essence Atkins, hollywood Dance Flick film review, hollywood Dance Flick movie review, hollywood Dance Flick review, hollywood film Dance Flick review, hollywood movie Dance Flick review, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Shawn Wayans, Shoshana Bush | Filed in Hollywood