Review: ‘Fifty Shades of Black’ Sells Sex With (Intentional) Laughs

     From left, Kali Hawk, Marlon Wayans and Mike Epps in “Fifty Shades of Black,” a satire co-written by Mr.                Wayans that has fun with the screen adaptation of a certain best-selling book. CreditScott Everett White/Open Road Films

“Fifty shades of terrible!” says Christian Black (Marlon Wayans), as he reads E. L. James’s erotic best seller “Fifty Shades of Grey.” “Who wrote this, a third grader?” Other trenchant observations pepper “Fifty Shades of Black,” a scattershot satire of the book’s 2015 screen adaptation, but a lot of wading is required to find them.

Mr. Wayans, who skewered horror flicks with the “Haunted House” and “Scary Movie” series, has found another ripe subject for pillorying. (At least two stage parodies got to “Fifty Shades,” the novel, first.) But as with other staples of the screen-parody genre, the comic bull’s-eyes arrive only intermittently.Black” parallels the outline of “Grey” — here, the millionaire, Christian, tries to coax the college student, Hannah (the appealing Kali Hawk), into signing a contract for kinky sex — but only as much as it permits Mr. Wayans to riff on pop ephemera. Fortunately, Mr. Wayans (who wrote the script with Rick Alvarez; Michael Tiddes of “A Haunted House” directed) has dependable support from Jenny Zigrino as Hannah’s lascivious roommate and Florence Henderson — you read that right — as an older seductress.Predictably, there are jokes about over- and under-endowments, body hair (“That’s very sasquatch of you”) and premature ejaculation. An amusing sight gag has Christian announcing, “Let’s break the Internet!” as he caricatures Paper magazine’s photo renderings of Kim Kardashian by Jean-Paul Goude.

The more resonant lines comment on politics, both presidential and racial: In a bar, Christian asks Hannah, “Are you drunk like Donald Trump-running-for-president drunk?” When Hannah is Tased by Christian’s mother (Jane Seymour), he snaps, “How many times do I have to tell you: Black lives matter!”

In the end, Christian — whom Hannah at one point calls “a sicko who likes abusing women” — is given his comeuppance. With a sex toy, of course.

“Fifty Shades of Black” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for sexual situations. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes.