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Before we take a baseball bat to David Zucker’s headlights though, it must be pointed out that, if anything, the Scary Movie franchise has been very loyal to the film that served as it’s original mickey-ing inspiration, Scream….if only because they’ve got worse with each sequel!!
Now, hammer please.
The first Scary Movie,
directed by the Wayans’ brothers, was hilarious - a straight-up
R-rated adult comedy that stuck it to the horror genre and then some.
Their sequel, though far less inspired, was still quite a rib-tickle at
times (especially Chris Elliot’s scenes as a wart-infested
butler) too. The last effort though, the Wayans-less’ Scary Movie 3, was about as exciting as being in charge of a mass mail-out campaign (Those stamps were probably tastier, in fact).
Unfortunately, David Zucker – the dude use to be good, heck, he invented the spoof movie! Flying High anyone?! – the chap who took a chisel to the humour of Scary Movie 3, is again at the reigns of the just-as-tired Scary Movie 4.
Once again, he proves he’s a better set-dresser these says than
he is a master of comedies, with the film’s main moments
essentially all look – he’s brilliant at recreating the
sets from most of the movies he spoofs - and little to no laugh. If
Lorne Michaels (of the always very so-so Saturday Night Live
sketch comedy series) was listed as executive producer, we would
expecting nothing less than a bunch of half-arsed jokes and mildly
amusing sequences that run far too long - but this is Zucker, and we
know he’s capable of more.
At least, I suppose, this one seems to flow a bit
better than the last sequel – well, a smidge better anyway.
Largely spoofing War of the Worlds and The Grudge,
it’s storyline – god, I feel dirty even calling it a
storyline – seems to have a start, middle and end this time, in
contrast to the last sequel, which was essentially just a series of
unconnected spoof sequences stapled together. To a large part, the film
still is that, but this time – it’s got direction. No, not
direction as in ‘fab work Zucker’, but it’s got a
path to follow. Scratching the bottom of the barrel for compliments
though, as you can see.
Thankfully, at least for the lads, series regular
Anna Faris is back – and really, she doesn’t need to be
with such better offers on the table these days – as the
film’s maladroit heroine, Cindy Campbell. As spunky as
she’s silly, Faris might be the only good ingredient in any of
the recent sequels. Still, even she must recognize that the series has
turned into the cinematic equivalent of a flat bicycle tyre – it
starts off with lots of air in it, but can quickly go flat when
punctured.
EXTRAS
Typical of the Scary DVDs, the extras on here are better than the
film itself. There's a very amusing commentary from the creators,
several featurettes (including a funny interview with the chaps behind
the film, including David Zucker), deleted scenes, some bloopers, and
more. If they put half as much effort into the film, as they had the
extras component of the DVD, it might have been worth picking up.
Conclusion:
Movie 50% Extras: 60%
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