REVIEWED - SCARY MOVIE 4: Coming so soon after the truly appalling Date Movie, which was written by sections of the team responsible for the first Scary Movie, this latest compilation of broad horror parodies takes on the quality of an endlessly subtle masterpiece, writes Donald Clarke
Anna Faris's response to the first of several sporting mishaps - "It's okay. I've taken balls to the face before" - seems, by comparison, to dance with the witty rhythms common to the writings of Noël Coward and Molière.
Oh such amusing situations. Here is Carmen Electra, blind like the heroine of The Village, voiding herself noisily before fellow citizens. Here is a shackled Dr Phil, trapped in a Saw pastiche, hacking off the wrong foot to set himself free. The Date Movie folk can only dream of such sharp satire.
Looked at in isolation, Scary Movie 4 is, however, a tad too fitful to warrant sincere recommendation. Faris, something of a cult hero after excellent cameos in Lost in Translation and Brokeback Mountain, is as winning as ever and director David Zucker, who prised the franchise from the god-awful Wayans brothers after the second episode, moves things along at a cracking pace.
Unfortunately, barely a third of the gags are worth laughing at. Still, the film-makers do deserve credit for bothering to put together something like a proper plot. If you think binding War of the Worlds, The Village, Lost, Million Dollar Baby, Saw, The Grudge and the Oprah Winfrey Show into a coherent narrative is a worthwhile enterprise then you may wish to give SM4 a cursory glance.
