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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Scream 3
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  out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
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Back in 1996, Wes Craven's Scream single-handedly revived the
teen slasher genre, launched the career of screenwriter Kevin
Williamson and spotlighted young TV actors like Neve Campbell, Liev
Schreiber, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Sarah Michelle Geller and
Rebecca Gayheart. As it evolved into two sequels, it even spawned an
off-screen romance - Courteney Cox met David Arquette while making
Scream, got engaged after Scream 2, and they are now married for
Scream 3. This final version of the trilogy, written by Ehren Kruger
(Arlington Road), finds tortured Sidney (Neve Campbell) hiding out in
the California hills, even as intrepid TV reporter Gail Weathers
(Courteney Cox Arquette) tries to track her down. Meanwhile, there's a
movie-within-a-movie, as the real-life survivors of the Woodsboro
massacre become technical advisors on Stab 3, a low-budget
horror-movie-in-the-making. That's how dorky ex-cop Dewey Riley (David
Arquette) finds himself dating Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey), the
actress who is playing Gail. Sound confusing? Just wait. There's an
obsessive detective (Patrick Dempsey), a flaky director (Scott Foley),
and a producer-with-a-past (Lance Hendrickson) - all of whom become
suspects in multiple murders. It's deja vu all over again. Problem is:
it's difficult to sustain the excitement over three years so, by now,
the concept feels a bit flat, formulaic, even stale. And the scariest
part is glimpsing Star Wars' Carrie Fisher, whom age has not been kind
to since playing Princess Leia. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10,
Scream 3 is a silly, shrieking 6. And get ready for a parody. Miramax
will slay you with Scary Movie on March 31.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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