The names Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer are enough to send fans of genuine comedy into a cold sweat, with the duo responsible for some of the most offensively awful parodies that cinema has ever seen. They were inexplicably popular at the time, and for reasons we’re struggling to comprehend, Meet the Spartans has proven they’re still popular now.
As per FlixPatrol, the 2008 monstrosity that obviously leveraged Zack Snyder’s 300 as its primary source of inspiration has become one of the most-watched movies on Netflix. Even more curiously, it’s the number three title in Canada, so perhaps the stereotypes are true, and the nation’s subscribers are simply too polite to switch if off once they’ve hit play.
We’re not even exaggerating to call it bottom of the barrel stuff, looking at a Rotten Tomatoes score of only two percent, which nicely complemented its Razzie nominations for Worst Picture (which it shared with Friedberg and Seltzer’s Disaster Movie, funnily enough), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Prequel, Remake, Ripoff or Sequel, and Worst Supporting Actress for Carmen Electra.
That didn’t do a damn thing to stop Meet the Spartans from earning $85 million at the box office, though, which is a damning indictment of society as a whole. Mercifully, Friedberg and Seltzer haven’t touched a feature 2015’s Fast & Furious pastiche Superfast!, and it was long overdue given the crimes against the industry they were allowed to commit for way too long.
We beg of you, Netflix viewers, don’t give them any ideas by kicking off a renaissance.