I really wasn’t very excited about the prospect of watching any of the “Scary Movie” sequels. I saw the first two films and found them mildly amusing, but considered them far too raunchy. I am in no way a fuddy-duddy and can certainly enjoy crude humor, but only when the crude humor is actually funny. The first two films had moments of inspired greatness, but they were few and far between, everything else was just dumb. Last year, when I received the DVD for “Scary Movie 3” I rolled my eyes and expected the worst. I took a look at the packaging and noticed that this third film in the series was directed by David Zucker, not Keenan Ivory Wayans who helmed the first two. I also noticed that the screenplay was credited to Craig Mazin and Pat Proft, not Shawn and Marlon Wayans. This gave me hope. Though Zucker recently directed the mess that was “My Boss’ Daughter”, he was also part of the team responsible for “Airplane 1&2”, “Top Gun”, and all the “Naked Gun” franchises. Maybe “Scary Movie 3” would be friendlier “Scary Movie”, fit for the whole family.

Well, friendlier it was, fit for the whole family…well… maybe its not. “Scary Movie 3” shed the ‘R’ rating of its predecessors, but even with a ‘PG-13’, I still wouldn’t let the kids see it. The humor wasn’t nearly as raunchy as it had been, but it was still bawdy enough put the pre-teens to bed before watching it. Having some old school writers working on it improved the level of humor as well. While the first two films did take-offs of more recent films (in order to appeal to the steadily deteriorating memories and attention span of the current MTV generation), “Scary Movie 3” didn’t just rely on these newer movies. Granted, there were still send-ups of “The Ring” and “The Matrix”, but they were mixed in with classics like “Psycho” and the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, as well as lesser seen horror films like “The Others.”

I can’t honestly say that every joke and sight gag worked, but “Scary Movie 3” hit at about the same score as Zucker’s older films. The fact that Leslie Nielsen had been added to the cast, which in the past decade has not been a plus, was once again inspired under Zucker’s direction. Nielsen can be excruciatingly funny given the right material and director, and here he was back to form.

Now comes the time for "Scary Movie 4", and Zucker is back again making fun of yet another slew of Hollywood hits. This time, the main targets appear to be "War of the Worlds" and "The Grudge." Ana Farris returns as Cindy Campbell, who has now become a caregiver who gets the unenviable job of watching over a catatonic old woman in a Japanese style home. The focus also rests squarely on Craig Bierko, who stars a Tom Ryan, a man who suddenly finds himself taking care of his two kids in the midst of an alien invasion. From that point on, the movie just gets sillier and sillier.

So many other movies are parodied in "Scary Movie 4" that you almost need a score card to keep track. The problem is that when you make a parody film like this. You are almost forced to turn it into something akin to a skit show. Coherence often goes out the window and you have to rely on each 'gag' to gets laughs. Unfortunately, there are just as many misses in this film as there are hits. For every laugh, there is an equal an opposing groan. Though to the film's credit, some of the bits that don’t really work still offer up a bit of the 'scenes we'd like to see', such as the annoying pseudo-celebrity Dr. Phil and the equally annoying Shaquille O'Neill as victims of the killer from "Saw."

The new DVD by Dimension has some really funny extras, adding a little bit more value to the overall package. First up is a commentary where we hear from Zucker and some of the other members of the creative team. I actually expected a funnier commentary, and though it has its moments, it is fairly ordinary. There are quite a few deleted and extended scenes which amount to a couple of extra laughs. Even better is a 7 minute segment of bloopers, most of which are quite funny. Additionally, there is a featurette where the cast talk about Zucker and his style of directing, while another focuses more on the style of the humor itself. You'll also find a bit of a montage of interview snippets where some of the actors answer everything but the actual question being asked as well as a short piece on the film's special effects. Finally, there is a featurette on the cameo appearance of Youngbloodz (who?), followed by another on all of the rappers who have cameos in the film.

If you’re like me and didn’t like the first two “Scary Movies”, there’s a chance you might actually get a kick out of these newer addition to the series. “Scary Movie 4” is so much more like Zucker’s original efforts, so chances are it’ll appeal to “Naked Gun” fans. If you did like the first two movies, you might actually not like this one as the humor is much broader and less drug-addled.

Directed by: David Zucker
Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hal, Anthony Anderson, Craig Bierko, Chingy, Bill Pullman, Carmen Electra, Chris Eliot, Cloris Leachman, Michael Madsen
Extras: 15 Deleted and Extended Scenes with Commentary, Bloopers, The Man Behind the Laugh - David Zucker, Zany Spoof Humor Zucker Style, Interviewer's Worst Nightmare, The Visual Effects, The Youngbloodz, Rappers & Actors, Feature Commentary with the Filmmakers
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16X9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Dimension
Release Date: 8/15/1006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (For Pervasive Crude and Sexual Humor, Language, Comic Violence and Drug References)
Website

We'll give Scary Movie 4 a C.