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Movie Review - Scary Movie 4 (2006)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
David Zucker |
| Starring: |
Anna Faris, Craig Bierko, and Regina Hall |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for crude and sexual humor throughout, some comic violence and language) |
| Length: |
84 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy/Parody |
| Tagline: |
They're coming. We need your support. |
| Studio: |
The Weinstein Company |
| Website: |
Scary Movie 4 |
| Release: |
April 14, 2006 |
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PLOT
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Plot? Yeah, as if that's of any significance. You know good and well that this is all about parodying
other movies, namely Saw, Saw 2, Brokeback Mountain, The Grudge, War of the
Worlds, Ring 2, Million Dollar Baby, and The Village. Not a single person in
America that goes to see this will be interested in what kind of "story" this is trying to tell. All I'll
waste my time saying is the main "plot" is a combo of those from War of the Worlds and The
Grudge. Silliness ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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How much toilet humor is too much? Well, don't bother asking anybody involved in the making of Scary
Movie 4 because it dances freely and unfettered in the world of gross-out jocularity with seemingly
no remorse. If Chris Elliott's snot, people being bathed in urine, and diarrhea issues all sound like the
components of your idea of a fun night at the theater, well, I suppose the movie has found its target
audience.
As for me, I have to admit that these things mostly lost their comedic appeal sometime around my
junior year of high school. I also plan on starting a petition that would force moviemakers to set
a limit on how many times a person can get hit in the head or knocked down in movies of this nature. I
know we all have wanted to see heavy objects fall on top of Dr. Phil, but is it still funny after about
the seventh time?
It's also my duty to warn everybody that Scary Movie 4 features a naked, 80-year-old
Leslie Nielsen. It's quite a disturbing sight. The man's chest looks like the lumpy mashed potatoes my
grandmother used to make. And he has the backside to match. If this is something you've always wanted to
see then A) you finally get your wish, and B) you need help.
One more warning - we're exposed to Anthony Anderson in chaps. With no underwear. I must admit that I'm a
bit confused at this strategy. They're practically begging people to NOT go see the movie.
Poop jokes and nasty naked men aside, there are some funny moments, even a few laugh-out loud ones, to be
had. Craig Bierko, last seen portraying Max Baer in Cinderella
Man, deserves credit for the bulk of these laughs thanks to his satirizing of Tom Cruise. The
guy's highly underrated as a comedic actor (just watch him on Conan O'Brien sometime), and he can have me
laughing with a simple facial expression or word delivery. He does the best he can with the material
he's given.
The funniest thing in the entire movie comes at the expense of War of the Worlds. I was extremely
annoyed during that film when Tom Cruise wouldn't explain to his son what was going on because there "wasn't
enough time." I always thought, "Um, you could explain it in one sentence." Thankfully, the filmmakers
must've thought the same thing because they parody it quite cleverly. But it's one of those scenes
that I appreciated more than the rest of the audience. As I laughed heartily, everybody else yawned and
chanted for more fart jokes. Youth today. What can you do?
So while this isn't a total chore to sit through, though the eight or nine people who walked out of the
screening might disagree, it simply doesn't get the job done completely. Much like Samuel L. Jackson's
career in the past couple of years, there are more misses than hits here. It starts off slow, the bulk
of the funny jokes are in the middle, and then the final third just drags out as the movie actually attempts
to tie up its "plot." Come on.
The mark of a really good comedy is when you can describe the funniest scenes and jokes to your friends the
next day and the description is enough to make them laugh. I'm afraid telling your friends "and then there
was this scene where a girl got hit by luggage and she flew back really far!" just isn't gonna cut it.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Budget: $45,000,000
- Watch for cameos by Shaquille O'Neal, Dr. Phil, Charlie Sheen, Bill Pullman, Carmen Electra, Chris
Elliott, Michael Madsen, and James Earl Jones.
- Chingy and Lil John also have short cameos, but who in the world cares?
- Craig Bierko was cast as Chandler in Friends, but he turned down the role.
- Craig Bierko was in The Thirteenth Floor with Gretchen Mol who was in Picnic with Josh
Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Too much bathroom humor for mama's taste. Profanity isn't overly extreme, even though one "f" bomb is
dropped. However, the abundance of sexual jokes and innuendo is enough to leave the kids at home.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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What you see is what you get.
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THE GIST
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Scary Movie 4 is certainly better than Date Movie, but so are the
Christmas videos my dad insists on recording every year, so that's no feather to place in any hat. The
problem is that with David Zucker at the helm, the man who gave us Naked Gun and Airplane!,
I expected much more.
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