In describing the horror film Feddy vs. Jason, a friend of mine said it was the funniest movie of 2003. It’s too bad that being a comedy wasn’t the film’s prime objective. For the same reason, I have to dub Cursed the funniest movie of the year so far. This is quite easy, since the only other comedies (and I use that term loosely) it has to compete with are pretty much The Wedding Date and Son of the Mask. However I don’t think that “funny” was a goal of good old Wes Craven when making this film.
The film’s plot revolves mainly around the premise that there is a werewolf stalking Los Angeles. The beast tends to choose to hunt incredibly attractive single women like Shannon Elizabeth and Mya in exotic locations such as the Santa Monica pier and parking garages. However the main plot revolves around siblings Elle (Christina Ricci) and Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg). When this pair is driving along the much storied Mulholland Drive they hit a large animal and veer into another car that ends up falling down a gully. When the siblings go down to rescue the passenger, who soon becomes dinner for our not so friendly wolf, they are bitten and therefore, yep you guessed it, cursed. Now they must find the person who is the werewolf and kill him to stop the curse from taking effect.
This movie is so absurd; it’s actually worth watching just to laugh at it. Just for starters, pretty much all the werewolves turn out to be on the staff of the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn which was still on the air at the time of the movie’s filming. There is even a cameo from Kilborn himself. In fact a number of aging stars, who probably couldn’t get a spot on some E! reality show pop up in this movie. The most enjoyable of these cameos comes when Scott Baio (Joanie loves Chachi!) tries to get a spot on the Late Late Show only to get bumped in favor of Carrot Top. (Too bad Carrot Top doesn’t get eaten by wolves in this movie).
The absurdity continues. The high school wrestling captain comes out of the closet to Jimmy in a conversation that includes dialogue like, “I’m gay.” Which is answered by, “That’s okay, I’m a werewolf.” Elle tells a female werewolf that it has fat thighs to which the monster responds with a very classy middle finger. It just goes on and on.
It’s hard to believe that director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson actually had talent in the mid 1990’s to create good horror movies like Scream. While the themes of a Wes Craven film are present in Cursed: Teenage angst, hot girls falling victim to some strange monster, and terror striking a seemingly normal street. However unlike his previous films, everything about Cursed is sloppy and unprofessional; the camera shots, the plot and the dialogue. It’s also pretty painful watching a talent actor like Christina Ricci waste her time on role that should have been filed by someone resembling Paris Hilton.
The acting is really not worth mentioning. But you can catch Dawson’s Creek alumnus Joshua Jackson. Judy Greer, who you may remember from The Village plays a she-devil office assistant whose main goal seems to be to annoy Elle.
Supposedly, Cursed had numerous production problems and almost half of the movie was re-shot. Anyone who sees this flick will find that quite easy to believe. However, that being said, if you are a person who enjoys laughing at other’s misfortunes, this is a film for you. There were several points in the film that I almost broke out laughing. Unless you like the so-bad-it’s-good genre, or you’re just a masochist, it would be good advice to stay away from this film that certainly lives up to its title.
Archived article by Mark Rice
Sun Staff Writer