It ain't high art and it sure isn't "brilliant filmmaking," but the arrival of Craig Mazin's Superhero Movie is actually a (small) cause for (minimal) celebration. And here's why: Over the last few years, the word "spoof" has become synonymous with the phrase "wretched non-movie." One need only pick through titles like Date Movie, Epic Movie, The Comebacks and Meet the Spartans to see that the spoof movie is one good place to hide if you're very lazy. Just about every movie freak I know was skeptical of Superhero Movie because they've been burned too often by this sort of schtick -- but I'm pleased to note that Superhero Movie actually represents a (slight) upswing for the oft-maligned sub-genre. It's sure as hell no Airplane! -- but it sure as hell isn't Date Movie, either.

Written and directed by Scary Movie(s) scribe Craig Mazin (and produced by two of the guys responsible for not only Airplane!, but Top Secret!, Hot Shots, and The Naked Gun, too), Superhero Movie is a colorful mixture of the old-school spoof style (thank god for Leslie Nielsen) and the more current crotch- and fart-addicted sensibility. It's very broad, very silly, very episodic, and frequently very sloppy, but (and here's a big but) Superhero Movie succeeds over many of its cousins for one simple reason: It's pretty funny.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster (click on the image for a larger version) from the upcoming comedy Superhero Movie -- which claims to be "the greatest superhero movie of all time (not including the others)." As you can see, the poster is in line with those the Scary Movie franchise have churned out over the years -- and I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but get a kick out of Leslie Nielsen's t-shirt: "With great power comes hot bitches." Nice. A spoof of several popular superhero flicks, Superhero Movie revolves around a high school kid named Rick Riker who develops superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly. Thus, he soon becomes The Dragonfly ... and must go on a quest to stop a supervillain called The Hourglass from taking over the world. Of course, look for a whole slew of ridiculous antics in between. Superhero Movie touches down in theaters on March 28, and you can view the trailer over at Moviefone.

I guess David Zucker wasn't satisfied with the quality of the superhero jokes in Jason Friedberg's Epic Movie, so he felt the need to make his own. Variety reports that Dimension films has finalized casting for their spoof flick, Superhero! Dimension had already cast Josh Bell (Drake and Josh), Sara Paxton (Aquamarine), Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars) and Kevin Hart (All About Polly), but the latest additions are comedy vets. Variety reports that Naked Gun icon, Leslie Nielsen, Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Brent Spiner (Star Trek: TNG), and Marion Ross (that's right, Mrs. Cunningham herself) have all signed on for unnamed roles.

Back in 2006, while doing press for his other satirical masterpiece, Scary Movie 4, Zucker told JoBlo.com that, "Craig Mazin [SCARY MOVIE 4 writer] has written a script, and it's a...You know, we've identified about a dozen characteristics that are common to all these superhero movies, like Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men...and if you can get those common characteristics, there's a pretty good chance that the audience will share those references and you can poke fun at the cliches. So it's going to be pretty interesting." Mazin has also been signed to direct the film, and David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss will produce. Zucker and Weiss were the team behind Scary Movie 3 and 4, as well as some of the later films in the Naked Gun franchise. So it probably doesn't take much imagination to guess what the film will be about. If you have ever seen a Scary Movie, then you just switch the low-brow gags to a man in tights rather than wielding an ax. Superhero! is set for release on March 28th, 2008.

On my Prom night, a mixup at the rental shop forced me to wear the tuxedo of a morbidly obese man. I spent the entire evening sweating profusely and praying my pants didn't fall to the ground. That was pretty scary. But I'm sure it has nothing on the upcoming remake of the slasher favorite Prom Night, starring Brittany Snow (John Tucker Must Die) and headed up by TV director Nelson McCormick. We mentioned the remake last month and now someone else has been added to the cast -- British actor Idris Elba. Fans of the mind-blowingly great HBO show The Wire (in a perfect world, this would include everyone), will recognize Elba as the beloved-by-fans Stringer Bell, the man who tried to apply economics classes to the Baltimore drug trade.

Elba's got a lot of projects lined up -- you'll soon be able to see him in the Hilary Swank thriller The Reaping, the horror sequel 28 Weeks Later, and the highly anticipated Denzel Washington/ Russell Crowe flick American Gangster. Elba will play a police detective in Prom Night. The original film was about a group of kids who accidentally kill a child and six years later are stalked by a masked killer at their high school dance. It starred scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and ... Leslie Nielsen! It's easy to forget that Nielsen was once a dramatic actor. In the summer of 1980, Prom Night was released just a few weeks after comedy classic Airplane!, which must have made it difficult for horror fans to take Nielsen seriously in the role. "A hospital? What is it?" "It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now."

Although it's without any music, there's a trailer for Scary Movie 4 floating around (via CBS 4 in South Florida. Can I get a big WTF on that one?) as we speak. It's funny, I've never watched a trailer without music or sound effects before...and I'm glad I haven't had the chance. Though the film definitely seems to have its funny moments, those of you who can wait may want to stick it out another day or so until the official trailer hits.

Based on what's shown, it looks like our Airplane friends are using the film The War of the Worlds as a main storyline, only it seems the aliens here take over the world using an iPod (I had to snicker at that one). Leslie Nielsen will play a moronic President of the United States (Little late on this joke?) who would rather wait to see how a children's book turns out than save the planet; an obvious poke at George Bush's initial reaction to 9/11.

Some of the other films on the chopping block include The Village, The Grudge and SAW (featuring a scene between Shaquille O'Neil and Dr. Phil). Oh, and there's also a spoof of the Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch like a buffoon thrown in as an extra bonus. Part of me is happy to see some new blood (David Zucker and Jim Abrahams) injected into the franchise, however, their jokes don't seem to have that special zing we've seen previously. Scary Movie 4 hits theaters on April 14th.

UPDATE: Yahoo has added the real Scary Movie 4 trailer, complete with actual music and everything. Check it out here.

[via JoBlo]