Scary Movie 4 (2006)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

David Zucker

Writers (WGA):

Craig Mazin (screenplay) &
Jim Abrahams (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

They're coming. We need your support.

Plot:

Cindy 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. Also, Alien "Tr-iPods" are invading the world and she has to uncover the secret in order to stop them.

Plot Keywords:

Alien Invasion | Overdose | Gay Cowboy | Gay Magazine | Oral Sex

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Anna Faris	...	Cindy
Regina Hall	...	Brenda
Craig Bierko	...	Tom
Bill Pullman	...	Henry Hale
Anthony Anderson	...	Mahalik
Leslie Nielsen	...	President Baxter Harris
Molly Shannon	...	Marilyn
Michael Madsen	...	Oliver
Chris Elliott	...	Ezekiel
Carmen Electra	...	Holly
Shaquille O'Neal	...	Shaq
Phil McGraw	...	Dr. Phil (as Dr. Phil McGraw)
Cloris Leachman	...	Mrs. Norris
Conchita Campbell	...	Rachel
Beau Mirchoff	...	Robbie

Also Known As:

Scary Movie 4 (Australia) (cable TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor throughout, some comic violence and language.

Runtime:

83 min | USA:89 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Italy:T | Sweden:11 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (re-rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Hungary:16 | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:10 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | France:U | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Lion's Gate Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

The sets are so exact that they look as if they're the same ones used in the original films. The Saw producers asked if they could use the bathroom set from this film for Saw III (2006).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tom is walking around after the first alien attack, the camera shows him walking toward it with a guy in red behind him, next to a car. In the next shot, the man in red is gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Shaquille O'Neal: [screaming] Help! Help! Am I dead?
Dr. Phillip C. McGraw: You're not dead. You've been taken against your will.
Shaquille O'Neal: Kobe?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Visual Effects of 'Scary Movie 4' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Lost in the Shuffle

No brains were harmed during the making of this production.

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)