The writers seem to believe that their audience will laugh simply out of recognition, and maybe that's true, I don't know. How this is different from those family-restaurant placemat games that entail spotting "hidden" objects, I'm unclear. What I do know is that the resulting experience is total disconnection from any of the elements that normally comprise a film: those silly things such as plot, characters, tension, and purpose. Now, even if you were to grant Date Movie a free pass on its lazy execution of the "so dumb it's funny" card, I think you'll find that most of the supposed humor wouldn't even pass muster in a MAD magazine pitch meeting. Sure, romantic comedies deserve to be sent up, but Date Movie doesn't bother to rein in its focus. Alongside the expected My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bridget Jones jokes, there are random potshots at Star Wars Episode III (?), Lord of the Rings (?!), and Rize (!!!?). Romantic! Comedic! Worse, the "chick flicks" actually referenced are a mishmosh of already-forgotten recent semi-hits (Hitch, The Wedding Planner) and "classics" that had already been parodied to death prior to the first Clinton adminstration: Pretty Woman, Say Anything, When Harry Met Sally … timely! Then there's an additional layer of references to stuff like Paris Hilton's commercial for Carl's Jr., which probably only 10% of the population ever saw, and which maybe 2% of that 10% still recall. Timeless! This incessant, empty pop culture referencing, coupled with the lack of actual comedy, will render Date Movie entirely incomprehensible in 50 years … no, make that 5 weeks.
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