Review: ‘Meet the Spartans’

Meet the Spartans reminds me of the good old days, when spoofs were an art-form and actually made you laugh because they were funny. I feel the golden age of parodies has past. No longer will films like Blazing Saddles and Airplane grace our high-definition, multiplex, digital projection screens. The ill-mannered step-children such as Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans now fill their large and intimidating shoes.

Poor Kevin Sorbo. I will proudly admit my past of partaking in regular viewings of the television series Hercules, but I feel we need to throw the man a bone. Aside from Carmen Electra (and we all know why she was cast), Sorbo is the biggest name on this bill. Unfortunately, I feel it’s not true to his level. While watching MTS, I couldn’t help but notice the honest underlying need he had for a break. His performance was actually not hard to watch, and I’m not speaking of his painted on abs. I am convinced that Sorbo can actually act, given the chance.

Speaking of the Carmen factor, Ms. Electra seems to be the favored actress for spoof films. I can only assume it’s due to the healthy balance of her, well… let’s call them ‘attributes’, combined with her knack for portraying a bad actress. Joining her is Nicole Parker (Mad TV), the only other female cast member of note. Her woman-of-1000-faces performance includes Paris Hilton (who also seems to be a staple of modern parodies), Brittney Spears, Paula Abdul and Ellen DeGeneres.

Rounding out the cast of comedic anomalies are Diedrich Bader (Drew Carey Show), Ken Davitian (Borat), Method Man and of course Sean Maguire as Leonidas. I will refrain from suggesting there is a complete lack of genuine comedy in MTS, but it is sparsely scattered throughout the film. Most of the laughter generated by the movie is more accurately described as that embarrassing giggle or chuckle that hesitantly slips out, the volume of which is determined by the consolidated level of laughter observed from the remaining audience. Essentially, this is a survival mechanism employed to not look or sound foolish laughing outright at something you are only partially convinced is actually funny.