Scary Movie 4
for crude and sexual humor throughout, some comic violence and language.
Reviewed by: Misty Wagner
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Extremely Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
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| Primary Audience: | Adults Teens |
| Genre: | Horror Comedy Sequel |
| Length: | 1 hr. 23 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2006 |
| USA Release: |
April 14, 2006 (wide) |
Every time you buy a movie ticket or rent a video you are casting a vote telling Hollywood “That’s what I want.” Why does Hollywood continue to promote immoral programming? Are YOU part of the problem?
Read stories about those who have struggled with homosexuality
| Featuring | Anna Faris, Craig Bierko, Carmen Electra, Leslie Nielsen, Simon Rex, Regina Hall, Shaquille O’Neal, Dr. Phillip C. McGraw |
| Director |
David Zucker |
| Producer | Robert K. Weiss |
| Distributor |
 Dimension Films, a division of The Weinstein Company |
“Bury the grudge. Burn the village. See the saw.”
The fourth installment in the “Scary Movie” legacy is exactly what one would expect. Parodies of pop culture, political and entertainment icons along with more recent blockbuster sci-fi and horror films make up the loosely sewn plot. This film bounces around in parallels and storylines taken from such movies as “War of the Worlds”, “The Grudge”, “Saw”, “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Village”. Fans of the other three Scary Movies are will probably find entertainment and laughter in this latest release, though there are times when it seems as if the filmmakers are reaching too far and trying a bit too hard to gain a laugh from the audience.
Although I enjoyed some of this film, I don’t feel the need to sit through it again. There were other Scary Movie installments which I found much more comical and entertaining.
As a spoof film, there isn’t much one could hope to gain by seeing “Scary Movie 4”. It is designed for people who enjoy cheap shots taken at other popular films.
As with the other three Scary Movies though, there is a lot of content that many will find offensive (Scary Movie 1 / Scary Movie 2 / Scary Movie 3). The language is strong, both in profanity as well as sexual dialogue. The sexual references and crude sexual humor are extreme and constant throughout the course of the film. There is fake gore and ridiculously over-done violence. There are also a few scenes mocking “Brokeback Mountain”, and though they are done for the sake of a laugh—poking fun at the gay cowboy-themed movie—some will find it offensive.
The bottom-line is that if you are weak at heart, unfamiliar with the other Scary Movies, or easily offended, then this movie is not for you. Parents should be strongly cautioned as this film is only PG-13 and does seem to attract a middle school crowd. Sex is handled very lightly throughout, with casual and heavy talk of homosexuality, oral sex, masturbation, STD, etc. So parents, BEWARE. If you typically allow your teens to see over the top, parody humor, then I would simply encourage you to screen this film before allowing them to see it.
Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Moderate
“VOTING” FOR BAD MOVIES—Every time you buy a movie ticket or rent a video you are casting a vote telling Hollywood “That’s what I want.” Why does Hollywood continue to promote immoral programming? Are YOU part of the problem? Answer
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
Extremely Offensive / 1
Extremely Offensive / 5
I would tell you what I thought of the story, but I honestly wasn’t paying attention. Something about a Japanese kid’s dad’s heart stopping aliens. I don’t remember, I was too busy watching and waiting for the next joke. The jokes indeed come fast and frequent, some better than others, obviously. My favorite scene of the whole thing was easily the final one with Oprah… that was just crazy. The “Saw” scenes were also quite enjoyable. Some of the jokes do fall flat on their face, for instance the constant usage of a butt with all the aliens (butt spouting lightning in the sky, a butt sucking people into the tripod). Others, however, we’re bust your gut funny. Jigsaw was probably the funniest character in the whole thing. I’ve never seen “The Village” so that part confused me but I think I got the jist of it.
Most of the jokes, however, were pretty unoriginal and predictable. You could easily tell when a joke was coming seconds before it happened and most of the time you could probably predict exactly what it was going to be. For example, when the grudge kid begins crawling down those stairs in his creepy way, you know he’s going to fall down it. Low and behold, he does. When Leslie Nielsen started talking to the UN about reversing the polarity of a laser that takes people out of their clothes, you know he’s going to take the clothes off the whole place. Bingo. It should be noted that before seeing the movie, I hadn’t seen the trailer or any of the TV spots, my friend informed me afterword that both these scenes were shown in them.
Leslie Nielsen, by the way, was hilarious in this. Sure, his character has been done a thousand times but it worked fine for me. I too wanted to know what happened to the duck. However, just about every single girl (and a few guys) screamed when he lost his clothes. I almost did as well… that’s… just… made me shudder.
As for objectionable things, sure, you’ve got a fair share. But the thing is, this movie doesn’t deceive you into entering a movie and being surprised by all kinds of objectionable things. Upon watching the trailer for it when I got back, you can clearly see from it what your going to get out of this movie. True, it does push it’s PG-13 rating at certain points, but it doesn’t go over the top. If your easily offended, avoid it (your probably not the type who’d enjoy this kind of movie anyway). But if you can take a bit of gross out humor, go for it. I only recommend you cover the eyes of younger people when Leslie Nielsen loses his clothes. Not because it’s overly objectionable, but because it’s libel to scar them for life.
All in all, the movie is enjoyable. I recommend folks see it, but it probably is one you can wait for on DVD. I only urge folks to not over analyze it, it was a simple parody movie and nothing more.
Very Offensive / 3
Offensive / 4
Very Offensive / 2
Average / 3
My Ratings: Offensive / 1