“I liked being lumped in as a Wayans,” said actor/comedian/filmmaker Marlon Wayans. “We grew up in the same house so we all have the same recipes, but we cook ‘em differently. I have my own flavor.”
Nearly 30 years ago, his oldest brother and “comedy hero” Keenen Ivory Wayans laid the foundation for a family comedy legacy.
Stretching into sitcoms, standup, sketch comedy and as pioneers of the urban spoof/parody movie franchise, the Wayans have been the Jackson family of film and television.
Five of the 10 siblings have gone on to make a name for themselves in their own right after Keenen provided them with their respective big breaks through his films and groundbreaking television show “In Living Color.”
Thanks to baby brother Marlon, Wayans’ humor continues with “A Haunted House 2,” directed by Michael Tiddes, which opens in theatres nationwide Friday, April 18.
Based on the hilarious antics and not-safe-for-print shenanigans in his latest film, Marlon’s recipe for funny is extra spicy with a roundhouse kick to it.
“I’m an equal opportunity offender,” Marlon said. “I hit everybody – black people, white people, Hispanics. But what’s great is that everybody laughs at the joke. I hope nobody feels left out or offended.”
Marlon returns as Malcolm Johnson, a young man who falls prey to outlandish supernatural activities often associated with horror films, but with a satirical, slapstick twist.
Audiences who haven’t seen the original may assume the film is akin to the “Scary Movie” franchise that was built (and later abandoned) by the Wayans at the turn of the millennium.
While there are similarities in the brand of humor, the concept is quite different.
“It’s really a horror comedy with parody moments with characters you enjoy,” Marlon said. “I’m not just putting together sketches.”
The film also stars Jaime Pressley and features Affion Crockett as well as St. Louis’ own Cedric The Entertainer.
“A Haunted House” wasn’t a project he had originally planned to revisit.
“Making a movie is a big enough dream so you don’t want to be like, ‘I’m gonna start a franchise,’” Marlon said.
Now he’s hoping to repeat the success of the independent hit original that cost $1.7 million to make, but grossed $70M worldwide at the box office.
“People were asking, but I was like, ‘If I can’t think of a way that is natural, I’m not going to force it,’” Marlon said.
He had some ideas rumbling around for a sequel, but nothing was concrete until he got into his mode of manically studying the latest films in the genre he seeks to spoof.
“When I saw ‘The Conjuring,’ me and my producing partner were like, ‘We’ve got it,’” said Marlon. “We saw the doll and it was like, ‘Oh my God, we have a storyline.’ We just got inspired, and before we knew it we had 148-page script.”
Marlon predicted what his famous family’s reaction to his spin on the Wayans’ family secret funny sauce might be.
“My sister Kim is going to watch and say, ‘He is so desperate,’ Marlon said. “She’s going to be like, ‘What won’t this boy do for a laugh”’”
“A Haunted House 2” opens in theatres nationwide on Friday, April 18. The film is rated R with a running time of 86 minutes.
