Scary Movie 4

“Scary Movie 4,” released in 2006, is better than “Scary Movie 3.” James Berardinelli said in his review, “Writing that sentence falls into the category of damning with faint praise, because the experience of sitting through the third installment of the comedy series was as pleasant as spreading organic fertilizer on the hottest day of the summer.” The feeling of distraction that infiltrated “Scary Movie 3” is gone, and there are enough laughs this time around. “Scary Movie 4” keeps most audiences distracted for a good part of the 80-minute runtime. However, as good as that might be, there’s so much bad, and it’s because of all those countless jokes that miss, way too much farting and urine, and (I’m not joking) a completely naked Leslie Nielsen. Obviously, that part definitely defines the “scary” in “Scary Movie 4.”

The story is unconnected to this film, so I don’t think I should talk about what happens in this one. “Scary Movie 4” has unfocused parody of four basically reachable movies: Saw, War of the Worlds, The Grudge and The Village. As the movie goes on, there are references to other movies like “Fahrenheit 9/11” (but you might question whether this is a putdown at the film or at the President) and “Brokeback Mountain.” The way these storylines are put together make no sense, but it doesn’t have to. Berardinelli stated, “The production team features David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, two of the three members of ZAZ (Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker), the trio responsible for Airplane! and The Naked Gun, and their goal is to find a familiar looking backdrop for a clothesline of spoofs and jokes. This "saturation style" of comedy doesn't work as well as it has in the past because the ratio of failed jokes to successful ones is too high.” It’s not even worth to sit through “Scary Movie 4” but there are times when it comes close.

Returning for a fourth time around is Anna Faris, who reprises her role of Cindy Campbell. Faris is either a great worker or really needs a good movie. Speaking of great workers, there’s the late Leslie Nielsen, who plays a weak version of George W. Bush. For the first time in his filmography, Nielsen did a nude scene – or was it really him? It’s possible that it was a stunt double, but that doesn’t matter. The scene is somewhat funny in the gross type of way. This is not like Nielsen could embarrass himself any worse than he did in “Scary Movie 3.” The other cast is Craig Bierko, who imitates Tom Cruise – and yes, that includes running through a fake Oprah couch before actually fist fighting her, played by Debra Wilson.

There are a handful of cameos, but every one of them are used poorly. Former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and talk show host Dr. Phil are in the beginning in a parody of “Saw.” Charlie Sheen is back in the same role as “Scary Movie 3.” His three girlfriends, played by Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, play a game of Scrabble. (Berardinelli said, “Why in the world would anyone be interested in watching these three play a board game? I can think of much more interesting things to watch them do.”) Michael Madsen does what he is famous for – look intimidating. Mike Tyson puts on a dress and bites ears off in a “Million Dollar Baby” spoof. Finally, Bill Pullman appears wearing a thick beard – looking like he hopes to be paid without anyone recognizing him.

What else can I say about “Scary Movie 4?” It’s not even in the same funny, uneasy tricks of “Scary Movie” but is has enough for it as “Scary Movie 2.” It’s a film for Dimension and Miramax to make a quick buck, and doesn’t have to make much at the box office to be a huge success. The quality looks like it is direct-to-video, but that won’t stop teenagers from wanting to see it. (The series went from being rated R and lowered to PG-13 with “Scary Movie 3.”) Berardinelli is right when he said, “It's okay for a few cheap laughs, but better suited for late-night cable viewing than even a matinee ticket purchase. If you decide to sit this one out, never fear - I am reasonably certain there will soon be a Scary Movie 5.” There are some franchises that won’t stop, and this series is one of them.

Much like how it was with “Scary Movie 3,” I saw this one as well On Demand for free. I liked it back than when I saw it late high school, but looking back, I can’t believe I liked it. Sure it did have some funny moments, but still, the spoof genre has long died and shouldn’t keep going.

Unfortunately they didn’t stop and decided one last time to make a sequel. If you want to know how poorly that was done, check in tomorrow when he thankfully complete the “Scary Movie Franchise.”