The fourth edition of "Scary Movie" proves more dull and boring than scary or funny, suggesting that the franchise ought to have quit while it was ahead, rather than make a mockery of movies that were already mockeries themselves.
"Scary Movie 4" brings back Cindy (Anna Faris). After sending her son off to military school, she's ready to get back to the work force. She becomes an in-home care nurse a la "The Grudge" in a haunted house.
Next door lives Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko), clueless father to Rachel and Robbie (Conchita Campbell and Beau Mirchoff). Tom and Cindy fall in love while he tries to bond with his children.
Then come the aliens, who are playing a game with peoples' lives for amusement, just like in "Saw" and destroying the world with their "Tr-iPods." Now Cindy, along with sidekick Brenda (Regina Hall), needs to travel through "The Village" to figure out the answer to how to stop the aliens from destroying the world.
The movie hits a high number of movie parodies, but smooshing all them in and not having any substance doesn't amount to a pleasurable experience.
Sure, there are a few good points. Faris has been a star of the series from the beginning. She plays the dumb blonde Cindy perfectly and her breathy voice doesn't reach annoying level.
Dakota Fanning first made the role of Rachel famous in "War of the Worlds," not for how great she acted but for how often and loudly she screamed in terror. Campbell took over and showed she has a nice set of pipes as well. Most known for her role as the creepy psychic girl from USA's "The 4400," there's a bright future for her.
There's also a "Brokeback Mountain" parody where Anthony Anderson as Mahalik and Kevin Hart as C.J. take over the roles of the loving sheep herders.
The original "Scary Movie" in 2000 tackled films that were bonafide freaky flicks, classics such as "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Sixth Sense." These were movies worth a parody and that's why the movie succeeded.
"Scary Movie 4," on the other hand, places a lot of value on poking fun at Tom Cruise, his couch jumping antics on "Oprah" and his movie "War of the Worlds." Why? Everyone has already poked fun at Cruise, who has already become a parody of his former self.
Watch the commercials or trailers from "Scary Movie 4" and you'll get enough of a giggle that heading to the movie won't be necessary.
"Scary Movie 4" opened everywhere Friday, April 14.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
