Scary Movie 4

Having seen all three previous Scary Movies I was well informed as to what to expect from the film, yet I wasn't at all bored with the film. I found my self chuckling out loud for the entirety of the movie. Some of the gags in the film were really quite funny, especially the Brokeback Mountain sketch between "Mahalik" and "CJ" was particularly funny. some of the apparently off the cuff humour was really quite enjoyable to watch including the banter between the above characters. Anna Faris was on usual form fulfilling her role as the "female title fight boxer", her missing swing at female opponent "Mike Tyson"(busy biting ears) causing nearly everyone involved in the fight and the crowd, to almost majestically, break their necks, leaving Cindy distraught and full of guilt. The overall length of the movie was quite short but I felt that it was just the right time, any longer and perhaps my interest would have been lost. The Tom Cruise character in the film was OK but his face was rather annoying sometimes, and they even managed to get in a contractual Michael Jackson kiddie fiddler crack. Overall I thought the performances were good and was a quality addition to the Scary Movie franchise.

I went into this film a little hesitantly...How can there possibly be a fourth Scary Movie that still keeps its humour? Well, it was (half) possible. Although the overall structure isn't as tight as the other three, the jokes are often still 'fresh' and there's a lot of slapstick, which, although predictable, is still funny! Anna Faris (Cindi), as always, is still on top form, as is Regina Hall (Brenda) and together, they deliver some fantastic comedy.

If you're looking for a new, original comedy, perhaps this isn't for you. However, if you're a fan of Scary Movie 1, 2 and 3, then how could you boycott this one?! Go for it, even if it's only 80 minutes for a laff and a haff!

Some movies are like a halfway filled gas tank. The part of tank that has the gas keeps the car rolling, but the empty part doesn't help the car move at all.

Such is the instance with Scary Movie 4. The first half of the film is completely void of laughs and relies on the been-there-done-that slapstick/goofy violence you'd expect to see on a re-run of a Three Stooges episode on PBS. However, the second half of the movie has quite a few laughs and had enough energy to keep me interested in the movie, but the movie needed a refill for the last few minutes, as it runs out of gas before it reaches the finish line.

This time around the plots of recent movies such as War of the Worlds, The Grudge, Million Dollar Baby, Saw, The Village, and quite a few others are intertwined to form a smudge of a comedic plot. Why explain it? Trying to compress the plot into a tiny paragraph is like trying to squash a block of cement in a vice. It just can't be done.

I don't know why Scary Movie 4 has to keep on recycling the same slap stick jokes that have been in the previous movie. The only laughs in this film come from spoken one-liners. It's as if they had no other funny dialogue to come up with, and added fart and ball jokes instead that reminded me of the previous bomb this year, Date Movie. Another problem Scary Movie 4 seems to have is a lack of knowledge of when to stop. There are many laughs, but many of the same jokes are played on for such a long time and are repeated that you feel ashamed that you laughed at them when they started. It doesn't know when to quit.

What keeps the movie alive the most is, like in Scary Movie 3, Leslie Nielsen playing the President of the United States. He again shows us how much he is needed for these kinds of movies, and there is a very funny scene in which he doesn't know what to say during a speech to the United Nations.

If you liked Scary Movie 3, most likely you'll like Scary Movie 4. I don't think anyone who found many recycled jokes in Scary Movie 3 will find anything fresh here. After all, do the movies Scary Movie 4 spoofs have much originality, even when played seriously?

I really didn't loved the first SCARY MOVIE despite it had some funny moments because I thought that for the most part the gags were of the juvenile humour sort. Second and third were ok, but when I arrived to the fourth I thought that I was watching a different movie than most of the other reviewers (and I still haven't seen the fifth).

In the beginning Dr. Phil and Shaquille O'Neal (as themselves) are in a basement just like Leigh Wannell and Cary Elwes in the ending of the first SAW. After they try to break free Phil notices he cut the wrong foot and then the movie unfolds with a lightning fast parody of films released in those years such as WAR OF THE WORLDS (with Craig Bierko and Michael Madsen in the roles that were of Tom Cruise and Tim Robbins), THE VILLAGE (with Bill Pullman and Carmen Electra in the roles that were of William Hurt and Bryce Dallas Howard), MILLION DOLLAR BABY, SCOOBY DOO 2 and some others.

I liked this installment more despite its paltry 5,1 on IMDB at the moment because some of the moments made me genuinely laugh. Not that there weren't some bad jokes, but the funny moments outweighted the lousy ones, and I never felt bored while watching it.

In substance, if you don't take this movie too seriously, you'll surely enjoy it like I did... and the fact that I am not a huge fan of spoof movies yet I liked it says a lot.

I had heard the buzz about this film being a bit crappy, but had to go check it out anyways. I have to admit that I laughed out loud a lot throughout the film. The plot involves Cindy Campell, star of all the previous Scary movie films, moving into a new house. But there are bigger problems than the job of house cleaning, as she soon find out her house is haunted by a little boy. To make matters worse, alien "TrIpods" are taking over the world. How is she ever going to escape this scenario? Scary movie 4 is filled with laughs, but cheap laughs as you would expect from a Scary Movie film, but it doesn't make it not fun to watch. So if you find yourself bored with nothing to do...why not see a funny flick. Definitely entertaining and will pass the time. My vote for this film is 6 out of 10.