Fifty Shades of Black

A Fifty Shades of Grey spoof telling the story of the relationship between a young student (Kali Hawk) and mysterious millionaire Christian Black. "Who wrote this, a third-grader?" exclaims star Marlon Wayans in a scene where he reads EL James's original book, but the question could very well be levelled at his own film. The laziest visual gags are accompanied by a cavalcade of insensitive, vulgar jokes that never work no matter how many silly faces are pulled. Given that the source material is ripe for parody, it's amazing that the script instead opts for broad racial humour and baffling scenes such as a "comedy" waterboarding. Veteran actors such as Jane Seymour and Fred Willard (playing Christian's parents) look positively uncomfortable delivering their lines, a feeling that will doubtless be shared by audiences. It's hard to imagine who would enjoy such a lowbrow feast of bad taste, whose only accomplishment is to prove that the classic movie spoof is well and truly dead.