I actually enjoyed Meet the Spartans. Let me take it a step further and say, Meet the Spartans was better than 300! Wow, it shocks me that a spoof could be better than the original, but let's face it—I really liked the idea of 300, but thought it turned out to be gratuitous, pompous, and hopeless. Meet the Spartans might be more of the same, but at least it's done with more than a fair amount of sarcasm, wit, and self-ridicule.

A brief history of 300 with the commentary by Meet the Spartans: Baby Spartans are inspected and discarded or kept, based on their health (read: outer beauty); and my favorite pop culture reference here was for Shrek to be born a Spartan&ellips; and discarded. Of course, our bold King Leonidas comes out of the womb with six-pack abs of steel and a beard&ellips;

Leonidas grows tough in the ways of Sparta while being put through torture and beatings, much in the same way he then "toughens" his own son. There's an overt bullying that occurs, accentuated by the various means by which Leonidas abuses his own son—hysterically so in the movie, but sadly so when we reflect on the ways we pass down our own hurts to our children. Of course, to soften hearts, Leonidas has taken a queen (Carmen Electra) who provides comic relief and shows off how masochistic and chauvinistic 300 was. It's hard to say whether or not Meet the Spartans is ridiculing that or not, but it's a spoof, and I'll take it as such.

Welcoming in Emperor Xerxes' messenger, Leonidas of course kicks him into the Pit of Death, along with Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, Ryan Seacrest, and the judges from American Idol. We're also introduced to the homoerotic commentary going on throughout the film, which is made even more overt later on; but it's interesting that the spoof chooses to challenge how "masculine" the original really was. Captain (Hercules' Kevin Sarbo) provides the stand-in "partner" for King Leonidas, with the actor spoofing his own career in the process.

The film also works in such notable pop references as Brangelina, Oprah, Ugly Betty, Happy Feet, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Deal or No Deal, and various movies, including Stomp the Yard. Somehow, the "dance off" was the weirdest intersection of Sparta and spoof, as both sides crunk it up to see who will win. Actually, the "your mama" competition was funnier, but the dance-off was just weird! Transformers, Spider-man 3, Borat, and Rocky Balboa get used and abused as well, but the movie works it all in as you might expect in a spoof.

The Scary Movie franchise kicked off these spoofs, and Epic Movie might've been the low point if The Comebacks wasn't—but none ever caught my attention as much as this much satire. With the closing credits sung and danced to by the cast, "I Will Survive" sends us off from the fake American Idol set. It's an appropriate ending. Along the way, there have been some interesting commentaries on male friendship, married life, sexuality, power, social class, and more.

This movie isn't deep, but it strikes me as a more thought-provoking take on the world than the last few of its kind. Still, you could probably do better for a laugh and there are certainly better ways to spend ninety minutes. But if you're stuck trying to pick between Meet the Spartans and Date Movie, this one's your pick.