Its pointless trying to analyse this film as some reviewers have obviously tried to do here. Its not hilarious by any means but it does pass an amusingly enjoyable 80 minutes of time. The gags are mostly clichéd and predictable, there's lots of tired old slapstick but when there's nothing else on TV (which is why I watched this) it certainly fits the bill. As for the appearance of 'Michael Jackson' in the film, I'm still laughing every time I think about it - heaven knows how they got away with it, but its certainly a funny moment!! Im' glad that I had seen all the films that this tries to spoof and the re-creation of the sets for War of the Worlds is fantastic. Its so close to the original.
329 Reviews
No brains were harmed during the making of this production.
Torgo_Approves17 April 2006
Scary Movie 4. Is it an example of good film-making? No. Will future film students study this movie and its revolutionary techniques? No. Could I have written this script in half an hour while stoned? Yes. Can I remember the last time I laughed this hard? No.
The key to enjoying a Scary Movie is to see it as a series of sketches based on popular movies, rather than a stand-alone film. The spoofs are extremely obvious and require as little thought to understand as it must have taken to write them. But as far as juvenile humour and crude visual jokes go, David Zucker does it right. You might question Zucker's actual skills as a director, but I dare you to call any of his movies unfunny.
Another reviewer mentioned that he missed the Wayans' style of comedy and brought up the scene where a blind Carmen Electra mistakes a church seat for a toilet as one of the funny scenes. Funny how I thought that was the only scene in the entire movie where the comedy fell on its face. The Wayans' relied far too much on lame sexual humour and gross-out jokes and I enjoy slapstick far more than that.
Not that Scary Movie 4 doesn't have its fair share of (hilarious) crude jokes. I won't spoil all the fun for you, so I'll just mention my favourite: Charlie Sheen, haunted by his past, tries to commit suicide, unfortunately the sleeping pills he swallowed turn out to be Viagra. That's the level of the humour in this movie, and if you are entertained by violent slapstick, people getting hit by cars, sexual jokes, and brilliant dialogue such as:
"I saw this face..."
"With a nose?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Sounds like a face."
...then this movie is worth buying a ticket for. But if you can't stand lowbrow, dirty, and obvious comedy, you better stay away. Personally I thought 4 was the funniest in the entire series, after #3. If a movie can make me laugh for an hour and 22 minutes, I can't hate it. While Scary Movie 4 definitely isn't a "good" movie, it's hard to put down comedy this funny. Craig Bierko does a very good Tom Cruise impression, as well. If you liked the other movies, especially 3, this is a must see.
Dirty, juvenile comedy is rarely this funny. Strongly recommended if you're in the mood.(r#16)
The key to enjoying a Scary Movie is to see it as a series of sketches based on popular movies, rather than a stand-alone film. The spoofs are extremely obvious and require as little thought to understand as it must have taken to write them. But as far as juvenile humour and crude visual jokes go, David Zucker does it right. You might question Zucker's actual skills as a director, but I dare you to call any of his movies unfunny.
Another reviewer mentioned that he missed the Wayans' style of comedy and brought up the scene where a blind Carmen Electra mistakes a church seat for a toilet as one of the funny scenes. Funny how I thought that was the only scene in the entire movie where the comedy fell on its face. The Wayans' relied far too much on lame sexual humour and gross-out jokes and I enjoy slapstick far more than that.
Not that Scary Movie 4 doesn't have its fair share of (hilarious) crude jokes. I won't spoil all the fun for you, so I'll just mention my favourite: Charlie Sheen, haunted by his past, tries to commit suicide, unfortunately the sleeping pills he swallowed turn out to be Viagra. That's the level of the humour in this movie, and if you are entertained by violent slapstick, people getting hit by cars, sexual jokes, and brilliant dialogue such as:
"I saw this face..."
"With a nose?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Sounds like a face."
...then this movie is worth buying a ticket for. But if you can't stand lowbrow, dirty, and obvious comedy, you better stay away. Personally I thought 4 was the funniest in the entire series, after #3. If a movie can make me laugh for an hour and 22 minutes, I can't hate it. While Scary Movie 4 definitely isn't a "good" movie, it's hard to put down comedy this funny. Craig Bierko does a very good Tom Cruise impression, as well. If you liked the other movies, especially 3, this is a must see.
Dirty, juvenile comedy is rarely this funny. Strongly recommended if you're in the mood.(r#16)
Fun and entertaining
dhellculvers5 May 2006
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.
Reassuringly Funny
j-douglasbagley24 April 2006
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.
Run-of-the mill parody with gross jokes and many cinematic references.
ma-cortes16 March 2024
Spoof movie with a myriad of unimaginative gags. This fourth chapter deals with Cindy (Anna Faris) who finds out the house she lives in is haunted by a little boy and goes on a quest to find out who killed him and why. Meantime, Aliens are invading the world and she has to uncover the secret in order to stop them and with the intervention of the stupidest President (Leslie Nielsen).
Cindy is back ,this time to save America from a plot Alien invasion for world domination and she thwarts their plans and saves the kid from a ghostly creature. Stars Anna Faris as Cindy and Regina Hall as Brenda who are the only people to show up in the first four Scary Movie films. From start to finish the humor and the laughters are uncountable. Lots of gags , sex jokes and innumerable sketches, some of them funny but movie lacks the freshness of previous installments. Director David Zucker go for quantity of jokes and targets and quality definitely suffers for it. This is a hilarious parody, surrealist, extreme spoof and gross out though less than its predecessors but is also intelligent and bold at times. It is really just an excuse for filmmaker David Zucker to parody a whole new batch of films and to do a lot of sex jokes and ugly scenes. As always the cinematic spoofs are numerous and provide silly laughs, the amusement is guessing which films are parodied; they result to be the following : ¨Saw¨and specially ¨War of the worlds¨, but also ¨The Grudge¨, and ¨The Village¨. Criticizing several films but expanding his scope of action from his acidic proposal to other stories, such as ¨Million Dollar Baby¨ or ¨Brokeback Mountain¨, ¨Unbreakable¨, ¨Walking Dead¨, including an ironic gag of Michael Jackson, and with the worst nude President, deadpan Leslie Nielsen parodying George Bush Jr. The picture contains loads of fun here and there and a passel of appearances and cameos, such as: Bill Pullman, Kevin Hart, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Molly Shannon, Michael Madsen, Chris Elliott, Carmen Electra, Cloris Leachman, basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, among others.
David Zucker, is the main creator of the cinematic subgenre of 'Spoof Movie' : parodies in which grotesque references to various successful films are mixed. David is back behind the camera of the 'Scary Movie' saga, as he already did in the first installment. The frenetic succession of jokes especially hits Tom Cruise because of his strident laughter, his proselytizing of Scientology Church and his relationship with Katie Holmes. The movie was mediocrely directed by David Zucker, he along with his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams are famous American satirists (ZAZ), they are directors and writers with successful works and long time collaborators, making their own comedy troupe (The Kentucky Fried). If you are looking for well-done spoofery, sees ¨Airplane¨ and ¨I'm gonna git you sucka¨ and leave this one to the discount previously viewed bin. Rating: 4.5/10. The motion picture will appeal to lunatic humor and absurd comedy enthusiasts.
Cindy is back ,this time to save America from a plot Alien invasion for world domination and she thwarts their plans and saves the kid from a ghostly creature. Stars Anna Faris as Cindy and Regina Hall as Brenda who are the only people to show up in the first four Scary Movie films. From start to finish the humor and the laughters are uncountable. Lots of gags , sex jokes and innumerable sketches, some of them funny but movie lacks the freshness of previous installments. Director David Zucker go for quantity of jokes and targets and quality definitely suffers for it. This is a hilarious parody, surrealist, extreme spoof and gross out though less than its predecessors but is also intelligent and bold at times. It is really just an excuse for filmmaker David Zucker to parody a whole new batch of films and to do a lot of sex jokes and ugly scenes. As always the cinematic spoofs are numerous and provide silly laughs, the amusement is guessing which films are parodied; they result to be the following : ¨Saw¨and specially ¨War of the worlds¨, but also ¨The Grudge¨, and ¨The Village¨. Criticizing several films but expanding his scope of action from his acidic proposal to other stories, such as ¨Million Dollar Baby¨ or ¨Brokeback Mountain¨, ¨Unbreakable¨, ¨Walking Dead¨, including an ironic gag of Michael Jackson, and with the worst nude President, deadpan Leslie Nielsen parodying George Bush Jr. The picture contains loads of fun here and there and a passel of appearances and cameos, such as: Bill Pullman, Kevin Hart, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Molly Shannon, Michael Madsen, Chris Elliott, Carmen Electra, Cloris Leachman, basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, among others.
David Zucker, is the main creator of the cinematic subgenre of 'Spoof Movie' : parodies in which grotesque references to various successful films are mixed. David is back behind the camera of the 'Scary Movie' saga, as he already did in the first installment. The frenetic succession of jokes especially hits Tom Cruise because of his strident laughter, his proselytizing of Scientology Church and his relationship with Katie Holmes. The movie was mediocrely directed by David Zucker, he along with his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams are famous American satirists (ZAZ), they are directors and writers with successful works and long time collaborators, making their own comedy troupe (The Kentucky Fried). If you are looking for well-done spoofery, sees ¨Airplane¨ and ¨I'm gonna git you sucka¨ and leave this one to the discount previously viewed bin. Rating: 4.5/10. The motion picture will appeal to lunatic humor and absurd comedy enthusiasts.
Shut Down Your Brain (Again) and Start Laughing With this Funny Franchise
claudio_carvalho20 May 2007
The unemployed Cindy Campbell (Anna Farris) is hired to work in a cursed house as caretaker of an old lady and meets the ghost of a boy. Meanwhile, the teenager son Robbie and the young daughter Rachel of his next door neighbor and crane operator Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko) are spending the weekend with their loser father. Cindy and Tom meet and fall in love for each other, but when Giant Tripods invade Earth, Tom escapes with Robbie and Rachel; Cindy travels to a village, trying to find the answer to a riddle to save the world; and the president of USA organizes the defense of the planet in UN under his intelligence and leadership.
As I have previously wrote, parody movies are always of the type 'love or hate' it. I am not intellectual, I love cinema as culture, but also as entertainment, so I like this genre. Further, when I see this type of movie, I know exactly what I am going to see: scatological jokes, funny and surrealistic references to other films and definitely a movie that will never be indicated for an Oscar.
I found this "Scary Movie 4" also very funny. The screenplay is a big joke with the remake of "War of the Worlds", entwined with "The Grudge" and "The Village". It also satirizes "Saw" and "Saw 2", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Million Dollar Baby". There are also references to the American pop culture that I unfortunately have not understood, like for example Dr. Phil, the Oprah talk show in the end (see Obs.) or Bruce the Bed King. Leslie Nielsen is hilarious in the role of the smart president.
This is the type of movie that you must shut down your brain and start laughing. What I do not understand and really irritates me are the reviews of persons that should never watch this type of movie. What do they expect to see when they go to the movie theaters or buy / rent a DVD called "Scary Movie 4" ("the last part of a trilogy"), directed by David Zucker and with Leslie Nielsen and Anna Farris in the cast? An art movie, with hidden messages, an epic, a classic or a film with politically correct jokes? Honestly, if I did not like this genre, I would never spend my time watching it. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): 'Todo Mundo em Pânico 4' ('Everybody in Panic 4')
Obs: My son has just forwarded "Tom Cruise Freakin Out On Oprah" in Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08PfuP_NXs
As I have previously wrote, parody movies are always of the type 'love or hate' it. I am not intellectual, I love cinema as culture, but also as entertainment, so I like this genre. Further, when I see this type of movie, I know exactly what I am going to see: scatological jokes, funny and surrealistic references to other films and definitely a movie that will never be indicated for an Oscar.
I found this "Scary Movie 4" also very funny. The screenplay is a big joke with the remake of "War of the Worlds", entwined with "The Grudge" and "The Village". It also satirizes "Saw" and "Saw 2", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Million Dollar Baby". There are also references to the American pop culture that I unfortunately have not understood, like for example Dr. Phil, the Oprah talk show in the end (see Obs.) or Bruce the Bed King. Leslie Nielsen is hilarious in the role of the smart president.
This is the type of movie that you must shut down your brain and start laughing. What I do not understand and really irritates me are the reviews of persons that should never watch this type of movie. What do they expect to see when they go to the movie theaters or buy / rent a DVD called "Scary Movie 4" ("the last part of a trilogy"), directed by David Zucker and with Leslie Nielsen and Anna Farris in the cast? An art movie, with hidden messages, an epic, a classic or a film with politically correct jokes? Honestly, if I did not like this genre, I would never spend my time watching it. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): 'Todo Mundo em Pânico 4' ('Everybody in Panic 4')
Obs: My son has just forwarded "Tom Cruise Freakin Out On Oprah" in Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08PfuP_NXs
The gas tank is halfway full
NateF8816 April 2006
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?
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?
Probably, the worst movie of the franchise, so far
funnycommentor29 November 2023
First of all, when I first watched the official trailer of the movie I didn't really liked it and I didn't had high expectations about it. Eventually, it was as bad as I had imagined and I would never watch it again. The plot of the movie wasn't very interesting, nor innovative and it was kinda similar to "Scary Movie 3". The storyline wasn't well-written, it was very simple and silly. The characters weren't very interesting, nor well-developed and they were all so stupid. In my opinion, it's definitely the worst movie of the franchise, because it was pointless and the jokes weren't funny, at all. The opening scene was kinda unpredictable, but it wasn't really promising and I didn't enjoyed it. The ending scene was definitely predictable and it was just fine. Overall, "Scary Movie 4" wasn't a nice film, boring, not funny and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Probably the funniest in the series
bellino-angelo201414 January 2022
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.
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.
Still got the jokes...!
when_anna_attacks13 April 2006
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!
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!
90 Minutes of pop-culture references... none of them funny.
gomi222 April 2006
Had 2 children not relied on me for transportation home from the movie I would have walked out after the first 10 minutes. Strangely enough they hated it. What's more surprising is that I shared the opinions of two teen boys who are engrossed in Rap Music, Pro (sic) Wrestling, MTV, and movies featuring breasts, blood, and explosions. This movie should have been right up their alley.
Scary movie 4 recycles the same jokes from the first 3 "Scary" movies, but disguises it in a shiny new wrapper by using a new set of overrated pop-culture references. Instead of poking fun at the aspects of pop-culture that truly deserve it (ie: tabloid magazines, irresponsible pregnant pop-divas, ridiculous celebrity monikers like 'P-Diddy,' contracting the names of Hollywood couples like 'Brangelina and Tomkat,' predictable bad-movie plots, brainless celebrity sluts, and drugged-up sports stars) they simply took anything that was popular and tried to make fun of it. In fact their desperation to latch onto anything that COULD be made fun of, no matter how much the humor failed, was so strong that it left the writers looking ignorant and out of touch with what satire truly is. The movie's plot is thin, accidental, and written as nothing more than an excuse to tie War of the Worlds, Saw (I & II), The Village, and The Grudge together in such a loose fashion, that one would have gotten more from it had they watched it backwards. In trying so hard, it generates a largely predictable and detestable plot that is little more than re-enacted footage from movies that you're probably already too familiar with, using sub-par actors, generic FX, cheap visual gags, and bad puns. However, I will give the studio kudos for recreating those scenes with splendid accuracy.
If you enjoy watching movies you have already seen, except poorly modified in completely low-brow attempts to make you laugh, then run out right now and see this.
Otherwise, if you have a brain, you'd find more entertainment value from having a bus run over your head. I may have never laughed during this movie, but I did halfway smile, TWICE! I think that's the highest compliment that this movie can get.
I expected more from the man who brought us such comic classics as Kentucky Fried Movie and Police Squad.
For shame, Mr. Zucker. Running low on cash, are we?
Scary movie 4 recycles the same jokes from the first 3 "Scary" movies, but disguises it in a shiny new wrapper by using a new set of overrated pop-culture references. Instead of poking fun at the aspects of pop-culture that truly deserve it (ie: tabloid magazines, irresponsible pregnant pop-divas, ridiculous celebrity monikers like 'P-Diddy,' contracting the names of Hollywood couples like 'Brangelina and Tomkat,' predictable bad-movie plots, brainless celebrity sluts, and drugged-up sports stars) they simply took anything that was popular and tried to make fun of it. In fact their desperation to latch onto anything that COULD be made fun of, no matter how much the humor failed, was so strong that it left the writers looking ignorant and out of touch with what satire truly is. The movie's plot is thin, accidental, and written as nothing more than an excuse to tie War of the Worlds, Saw (I & II), The Village, and The Grudge together in such a loose fashion, that one would have gotten more from it had they watched it backwards. In trying so hard, it generates a largely predictable and detestable plot that is little more than re-enacted footage from movies that you're probably already too familiar with, using sub-par actors, generic FX, cheap visual gags, and bad puns. However, I will give the studio kudos for recreating those scenes with splendid accuracy.
If you enjoy watching movies you have already seen, except poorly modified in completely low-brow attempts to make you laugh, then run out right now and see this.
Otherwise, if you have a brain, you'd find more entertainment value from having a bus run over your head. I may have never laughed during this movie, but I did halfway smile, TWICE! I think that's the highest compliment that this movie can get.
I expected more from the man who brought us such comic classics as Kentucky Fried Movie and Police Squad.
For shame, Mr. Zucker. Running low on cash, are we?
Painful!
RHPSvegas17 April 2006
Aside from the president in the classroom bit that so accurately depicted exactly how Bush handled the news of 9/11, this was an inept waste of celluloid! Anna Farris (sp?) can be funny, but she doesn't need to try very hard in this - there's not much for her to work with. It was interesting to see Dr. Phil willingly take self-deprecating humor, and Debra Wilson is a comedy goddess (I miss her on MadTV), but other than that the laughs ran so thin that sometimes it was hard to tell if they were making fun of other movies or just getting some more use out of left-over sets. I want my $9.50 back! This isn't even a popcorn "I can just sit back and laugh" movie. It is a total waste with "in jokes" casually mentioning myspace and "lovely lady lumps" but without any substance or even the faintest hint of a plot.
Put a fork in it; this franchise is done!
george.schmidt17 April 2006
SCARY MOVIE 4 (2006) * Anna Faris, Craig Bierko, Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Carmen Electra, Bill Pullman, Chris Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Molly Shannon, Simon Rex, Debra Wilson, Charlie Sheen. (Voices of Dane Cook, James Earl Jones) (Cameos as themselves: Dr. Phil, Shaquille O'Neal) Virtually laugh free chapter in the ongoing comedy spoof of horror and sci-fi films this time poking fun at "War of The Worlds", "The Grudge", "Saw", and "The Village" among others with barely a smile inducing moment despite David Zucker back at the helm with his jam-as-many-jokes-as possible per frame is overwhelmed for its lackluster inspired lunacy one would anticipate. Put a fork in it; this franchise is done!
Ever Feel as if You are Living in a Scary Movie with a Bad Script?
mstomaso18 September 2007
Scary Movie adds a new element to the usual *** Movie formula - reality. A few scenes from the Dubya administration's history are reproduced, and an embarrassing moment from Mr Cruise's midlife crisis are re-lived in addition to the usual spoofs of various horror and sci fi films. The Dubya scenes, nicely done by Leslie Nielson, were the highlights of the film for me. I'm not a fan of brainless comedy, but this non-formula material made the film tolerable for me.
SM4 spends a lot of time with The Village, Saw and War of the Worlds - plus a couple of films I only vaguely recognized... blending the plots cleverly but without adding much to the comedic value in the blending technique. Brokeback Mountain is also parodied (though I do not understand why this was considered a scary movie). The film is funny at times, but brow-beats its parody of Tom Cruise's character in War of the Worlds. Nevertheless, it's a fun little romp and much less grotesque than some of the previous entries in the series.
Acting - good for what it is. Directing - good for what it is. Script - OK, but could have been more intellectually challenging (and funnier) Cinematography - good for what it is.
Recommended for fans of the series, but don't expect it to be the funniest.
SM4 spends a lot of time with The Village, Saw and War of the Worlds - plus a couple of films I only vaguely recognized... blending the plots cleverly but without adding much to the comedic value in the blending technique. Brokeback Mountain is also parodied (though I do not understand why this was considered a scary movie). The film is funny at times, but brow-beats its parody of Tom Cruise's character in War of the Worlds. Nevertheless, it's a fun little romp and much less grotesque than some of the previous entries in the series.
Acting - good for what it is. Directing - good for what it is. Script - OK, but could have been more intellectually challenging (and funnier) Cinematography - good for what it is.
Recommended for fans of the series, but don't expect it to be the funniest.
About what I expected.
Aaron137520 April 2006
It was rather funny, as to be expected the jokes were hit and miss with there being more hits than misses for me. I thought once again it could have been funnier and there were some unnecessary jokes, but all in all it was a rather funny flick. This one actually plays like a sequel as characters from the previous flick are explained why they aren't here rather than just being ignored all together. For this one the required viewing or basic knowledge of a movie that you need for this one is mainly "Saw", "The Grudge", "The Village", "Million Dollar Baby", and for me the best one "War of the Worlds" (a movie that needed some fun poked at it). There is also something in there making a bit of fun of a movie pretty much you don't need to have seen are know all that much about...you will get it as long as you watch a bit of television. The "War of the Worlds" to me seems to be the main film parodied, however the other films get their fair share of the jokes as well. The opening is rather funny with Shaq and Dr. Phil doing a "Saw" recreation and there are other celebrities who make short visits as well however it is still the same group who forms the core of the cast. Worth a look see, however, if you did not care for "Scary Movie 3" I would say you probably won't like this one.
Really Bad Movie
dmcs-226 May 2006
Really disliked this movie, 1 was good, 2 OK, 3 I could tolerate, but 4 was really bad. I did not care for War of the worlds, I thought they totally destroyed a very good story / Concept when they created that movie, but made it worse by trying to make fun of it in SM4. The village was poorly done start with and to incorporate that into another movie was disappointing.
With all the possible content out there, they came up with this. No thank you! Did not think any part of it was funny, a great many of the jokes were already done, maybe I am looking for something fresh and not tired or the same old humor.
With all the possible content out there, they came up with this. No thank you! Did not think any part of it was funny, a great many of the jokes were already done, maybe I am looking for something fresh and not tired or the same old humor.
The story is the least interesting thing about it
askeland8917 July 2022
Be honest with yourself.. You don't watch these type of movies for the story, you watch them for the laughs and it delivers just that. There is nothing to learn here, this movie has no depth what so ever but it doesn't need it.
I can safely say that this is one of the most braindead movies I have ever seen in my 32 year long life and I enjoyed every second of it. Don't take it too seriously and you will have a good time.
I can safely say that this is one of the most braindead movies I have ever seen in my 32 year long life and I enjoyed every second of it. Don't take it too seriously and you will have a good time.
The best film in the franchise so far.
filipemanuelneto29 January 2021
This is the fourth film in the "Scary Movie" franchise ... and this time, Cindy is going to get a new job as a health care provider and face an alien invasion. Of course, the film is full of satirical situations and parodies of notable films like "Grudge", "War of the Worlds", "The Village" and "Saw". That is, this film repeats the same formula that we already know. Despite this, it far exceeded my expectations. I felt that the jokes are much better and funnier than those of previous films, including the first one. The sexual load is still present, but it has been reduced and the dialogues are the best so far. Honestly, for me, this was the movie that I liked the most in the franchise, so far.
There is no doubt at this point that the best thing that could have happened to the "Scary Movie" franchise was the change of director and screenwriter and the arrival of David Zucker. In the first two films, the Wayans clan dominated actors, director and screenwriters. In the third film, Zucker already takes the direction but accepts a script from the Wayans. Here, he had more control over what he wanted to do, assuming direction and script, which was undoubtedly an improvement.
The film again features Anna Faris and Regina Hal in their usual characters. This time, I liked their work more. Hall's character, whom the previous films had made into a nymphomaniac, was much better developed here and the two actresses seem to have received better material to work with, obtaining better results from their efforts. I also enjoyed watching Leslie Nielsen, with a series of jokes and situations so anecdotical that it is impossible not to laugh. Honestly, I can understand why Nielsen has collaborated so actively with Zucker in other films: he knows how to get the best out of Nielsen, much to the public's delight. Alonso Boden is very good and Carmen Electra, Michael Madsen and Charlie Sheen do a satisfactory job. The cast, in general, did quite well. The opening sequence, with Phil McGraw and Shaquille O'Neal, is memorable.
Technically, the film is quite interesting. There are good special effects and CGI and the sets and costumes also play their part very well. It is a longer film than the others, with about 90 minutes, within the average of a feature film. It has a good pace, it doesn't waste time, the jokes follow one another quickly and don't let the audience stop laughing.
There is no doubt at this point that the best thing that could have happened to the "Scary Movie" franchise was the change of director and screenwriter and the arrival of David Zucker. In the first two films, the Wayans clan dominated actors, director and screenwriters. In the third film, Zucker already takes the direction but accepts a script from the Wayans. Here, he had more control over what he wanted to do, assuming direction and script, which was undoubtedly an improvement.
The film again features Anna Faris and Regina Hal in their usual characters. This time, I liked their work more. Hall's character, whom the previous films had made into a nymphomaniac, was much better developed here and the two actresses seem to have received better material to work with, obtaining better results from their efforts. I also enjoyed watching Leslie Nielsen, with a series of jokes and situations so anecdotical that it is impossible not to laugh. Honestly, I can understand why Nielsen has collaborated so actively with Zucker in other films: he knows how to get the best out of Nielsen, much to the public's delight. Alonso Boden is very good and Carmen Electra, Michael Madsen and Charlie Sheen do a satisfactory job. The cast, in general, did quite well. The opening sequence, with Phil McGraw and Shaquille O'Neal, is memorable.
Technically, the film is quite interesting. There are good special effects and CGI and the sets and costumes also play their part very well. It is a longer film than the others, with about 90 minutes, within the average of a feature film. It has a good pace, it doesn't waste time, the jokes follow one another quickly and don't let the audience stop laughing.
Worst of the series! No doubt!
barrett1darrell24 April 2006
This was the lamest movie I have ever seen. The jokes seem to have been written by my 10 year old cousin. Hey look! That spaceship looks like an bum! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA(sarcasm)Hey look! The daughter was hit by lightening again! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Hey look! He took Viagra by mistake! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
What this franchise needs is the Wayans Bros to come back. The only bright spot(or spots) in Scary Movie 4, was the appearances by Chris Elliott and Leslie Nielsen. They were the only naturally funny people in the movie. The other actors/actresses(and I use that term loosely) are God awful! They aren't FUNNY!!!! 1/10 only because 0 wasn't available! God, I want my money back!
What this franchise needs is the Wayans Bros to come back. The only bright spot(or spots) in Scary Movie 4, was the appearances by Chris Elliott and Leslie Nielsen. They were the only naturally funny people in the movie. The other actors/actresses(and I use that term loosely) are God awful! They aren't FUNNY!!!! 1/10 only because 0 wasn't available! God, I want my money back!
I've stopped laughing
samseescinema13 April 2006
Scary Movie 4
rating: 1 out of 4
If a comedian were to crack a thousand jokes and we laughed at four, this comedian would not be considered funny. He would be booed and thrown out of the venue and told sternly and with all seriousness that he ought to choose another profession. Now tell me this: Why hasn't somebody told this to the fellows making these Scary Movie films?
The premise is the same as the others, but this time only more stupid: Mimic as many recent horror flicks as possible, then knee, bat, bludgeon, scare, defecate, punch, and maim the characters with as much slapstick absurdity as a four year old male can muster. The problem with this formula is that by the four hundredth time I've seen somebody grimace in unexpected pain, I've stopped laughing. Spoofs can be intelligent. If done right, they can dissect the absurdity of serious films and exploit their solemnity to hilarious effect. Scary Movie 4 doesn't even make a pass at such antics. They'd rather kick ghosts in the testicles.
And the film doesn't limit itself to spoofing only horror films; it attacks Million Dollar Baby, Brokeback Mountain, and the Bush Administration (actually, I'll admit to laughing at this segment). It mostly plugs at The Grudge and War of the Worlds, with Anna Faris and Craig Bierko filling in the roles Sarah Michelle Gellar and Tom Cruise played. Their mimicry looks and feels smartwith surprising CGI effects filling in the Tripods and ghostiesbut the final execution is painful.
But here's the thing: the theatre was packed and it was roaring. Our little packet of critics sitting near the aisles was the only silent section in the theatre. The man in front of me laughed so violently that his chair rocked painfully into my knees on multiple occasions. So call us jaded, but me and my fellow critics don't seem to be of the demographic Scary Movie 4 is aiming at. Those who are going to see it are, yes, probably going to enjoy themselves. But let me confidently announce that I hated this movie from beginning to end. Hell, even the credits annoyed me. I just hope that the Scary Movie series doesn't become an ongoing fixture at our multiplexes. Isn't four enough?
rating: 1 out of 4
If a comedian were to crack a thousand jokes and we laughed at four, this comedian would not be considered funny. He would be booed and thrown out of the venue and told sternly and with all seriousness that he ought to choose another profession. Now tell me this: Why hasn't somebody told this to the fellows making these Scary Movie films?
The premise is the same as the others, but this time only more stupid: Mimic as many recent horror flicks as possible, then knee, bat, bludgeon, scare, defecate, punch, and maim the characters with as much slapstick absurdity as a four year old male can muster. The problem with this formula is that by the four hundredth time I've seen somebody grimace in unexpected pain, I've stopped laughing. Spoofs can be intelligent. If done right, they can dissect the absurdity of serious films and exploit their solemnity to hilarious effect. Scary Movie 4 doesn't even make a pass at such antics. They'd rather kick ghosts in the testicles.
And the film doesn't limit itself to spoofing only horror films; it attacks Million Dollar Baby, Brokeback Mountain, and the Bush Administration (actually, I'll admit to laughing at this segment). It mostly plugs at The Grudge and War of the Worlds, with Anna Faris and Craig Bierko filling in the roles Sarah Michelle Gellar and Tom Cruise played. Their mimicry looks and feels smartwith surprising CGI effects filling in the Tripods and ghostiesbut the final execution is painful.
But here's the thing: the theatre was packed and it was roaring. Our little packet of critics sitting near the aisles was the only silent section in the theatre. The man in front of me laughed so violently that his chair rocked painfully into my knees on multiple occasions. So call us jaded, but me and my fellow critics don't seem to be of the demographic Scary Movie 4 is aiming at. Those who are going to see it are, yes, probably going to enjoy themselves. But let me confidently announce that I hated this movie from beginning to end. Hell, even the credits annoyed me. I just hope that the Scary Movie series doesn't become an ongoing fixture at our multiplexes. Isn't four enough?
This is the worst movie! ever!
jj-65016 April 2006
Oh My God, i can't believe i wasted $8 bucks on this piece of crap.I mean the some of the jokes were funny but most of them seem like an 8 year old that just learned what sex was would write. Me and my friend felt so ripped off.I mean i liked Date Movie which was rated worse than this, so i thought i would like this. They really need to get the writers from 1 & 2 on this! UHH!! I FEEL RIPPED OFF!!!!!!!!!!! This movie is most likely suited for children under 12 that think poop jokes are funny.1&2 were much more funny but I don't know what they did to this series, they just made it more disgusting and retarded. My advice to you don't spend $8 dollars like me on this and wait for the DVD release.
Meh, it's OK- nothing special
peterbod7413 April 2006
First off, i have to mention how excited I was to see the 4th film of scary movie!!!! I was looking forward to it so much, but I have to say- at the end of the movie I found myself leaving the cinema slightly disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, It was an OK film, its not like i hated it, but it sadly lacked the comedy of the other 3 films. I was very pleased to see Brenda back, however, not even she could bring this up to the standards of the others.
It felt as if each scene was rushed and just randomly placed together- for some reason, it didn't all seem to fit with each other, it was like "OK, we've done one spoof- quickly we have to do the next one" and everything seems so rushed and unfinished.
However, it wasn't a complete disappointment, Their were some really funny moments in the film which save it from complete boredom. It's OK to watch, it passes a few hours and serves up some slight laughs every now and then.
Don't get me wrong, It was an OK film, its not like i hated it, but it sadly lacked the comedy of the other 3 films. I was very pleased to see Brenda back, however, not even she could bring this up to the standards of the others.
It felt as if each scene was rushed and just randomly placed together- for some reason, it didn't all seem to fit with each other, it was like "OK, we've done one spoof- quickly we have to do the next one" and everything seems so rushed and unfinished.
However, it wasn't a complete disappointment, Their were some really funny moments in the film which save it from complete boredom. It's OK to watch, it passes a few hours and serves up some slight laughs every now and then.
Scary Movie 4 - The tragedy continues.
denharmailenarunik2 May 2006
It seems that with each new sequel the series gets worse. Sure I find it fun from time to time when they turn serious horror movies into.. well - laughter, but "Scary Movie 4" had few scenes that made me laugh out of pure laughter. Mostly I laughed due to others laughing. Not necessarily fun parts even.
I think the script was poorly executed to say the least. It is basically a reproduction of the 3:rd in the series. I think the series needs a actor/actress change, a radical one. Some new faces might make the series more "enjoyable". More like the first two in the series.
I think the current grade 5.4/10 is an okay grade. No more, no less. It delivered some good jokes, and the president made dumb was hilarious. But it has MANY flaws and things that could've been more well executed.
Better luck next time.
Dan
I think the script was poorly executed to say the least. It is basically a reproduction of the 3:rd in the series. I think the series needs a actor/actress change, a radical one. Some new faces might make the series more "enjoyable". More like the first two in the series.
I think the current grade 5.4/10 is an okay grade. No more, no less. It delivered some good jokes, and the president made dumb was hilarious. But it has MANY flaws and things that could've been more well executed.
Better luck next time.
Dan
I Want My Money Back.....
superman8917 April 2006
I want the 28 minutes this movie stole from me. I could have been doing something more entertaining like getting a root canal. I felt cheated like I lost a bet or drawed the short straw. This movie was horrible and the few jokes were just that, few........
The inside jokes were, what's the word I'm looking for, retarded. My 7 year olds jokes were of better quality than those dropped in this film. Understandably that this movie was meant for potty humor and cheap laughs, but come on you can only go kicking a dead horse so many times and the joke gets old, really old.
The only thing entertaining about seeing this movie was watching the girls in front of me chatting back and forth about what clothes their going to wear tomorrow. DO NOT SEE THIS FILM...!!!
The inside jokes were, what's the word I'm looking for, retarded. My 7 year olds jokes were of better quality than those dropped in this film. Understandably that this movie was meant for potty humor and cheap laughs, but come on you can only go kicking a dead horse so many times and the joke gets old, really old.
The only thing entertaining about seeing this movie was watching the girls in front of me chatting back and forth about what clothes their going to wear tomorrow. DO NOT SEE THIS FILM...!!!
absurdly random and funny
johnsmithjanuary-2008115 March 2022
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