| Overall Grade: |
B |
|
| Story: |
B- |
|
|
| Acting: |
B |
|
|
| Direction: |
B |
|
|
| Visuals: |
B+ |
|
|
Only six more to go!
by isselman i (movies profile)
Aug 25, 2007
74
of
94 people found this review helpful
The Scary Movie franchise has been the staple of spoofs and potty humor for a long time now, and it has enjoyed every minute of its triumphant reign. And who can blame it? It knows its audience, and it delivers. Over the first two sequels that Scary Movie 1 had spawned, aim was taken at such movies as "The Ring", "The Exorcist," "8 Mile," "Signs," "The Matrix," and "Stigmata." Scary Movie 4 continues that tradition with corky parodies of "Saw" and "Saw II," "The War of the Worlds," "The Grudge," "The Village," "Brokeback Mountain," "King Kong" and "Hustle and Flow," producing an odd medley of cheesy gags, slapstick humor and tired old potty jokes.
Scary Movie 4 shares the (for the lack of a better word) talents of Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Molly Shannon, Craig Bierko (as Tom Ryan), and Leslie Neilson, with cameo appearences by Dr. Phil and Shaquille O'Neal, and director David Zucker (of "Sacry Movie 3" and "Airplane!").
Basically, the content of Scary Movie 4 breaks down like this:
The Pros: It's the cleanest one yet -- which, admittedly, doesn't sound very good on paper (but works in practice: you aren't going to be cringing after every punch line, realizing that it had some obscene sexual premise); the acting is a bit less amateur, a bit more believable, than in predecessors; and the cracks aren't as run into the ground as in the first two movies.
The Cons: Some eye-rolling humor, exuberance of in jokes, shotty length and a "something left to be desired" finale keep this project from ever getting too far off the ground.
Bottom Line: Scary Movie 4 is funny. Not hilarious. Funny. It seeks to unravel less of the moral fabric than do the first two installments, but manages to keep spirits high and sides soar, notwithstanding. If you enjoyed Scary Movie 3, you'll enjoy this one, and if you didn't it isn't going to make a fan out of you. Ultimately, if there's one thing that can be said about this weird exercise in comic madness, it's, if you like Scary Movie 3, this is simply more of the same. But if you're a fan of the series as a whole, this may or may not suit your fancy, as here, like in Scary Movie 3, the shrewd over-the-top antics of the Wayans Brothers are entirely missing. |
My Public Profile 
