Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES:30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

SCARY MOVIE 4 (PG-13)

MOVIE BIASES: There needed to be a fourth?

MAJOR PLAYERS: Anna Faris (Scary Movie 3), Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man), Regina Hall (Scary Movie 3), and director David Zucker (Scary Movie 3)

Starting off with a Dr. Phil-Shaq "Saw"-like exchange that's one of the few clever sequences in the movie, "Scary 4" follows clueless Cindy Campbell (Faris) into a new profession, caregiver in a house haunted by a creepy, pale looking boy. But when the Earth is overrun by giant TriPods, her next door neighbor Tom Ryan (Bierko) teams up with her to stave off an alien invasion.

Mommy, make the bad movie stop! Although it has its moments with sometimes inspired but cheap laughs at "War of the Worlds," "Brokeback Mountain," "The Grudge," "Saw," "The Village," and others, "Scary 4" sags with excessive, skin-crawlingly gross-out humor. Anna Faris plays a dumb blonde with admirable conviction while Regina Hall's blind dedication to oversexed Brenda is about the best thing in this film; gotta love her verve in the face of spotty writing. Weighing in with Leslie Nielsen, grandfather of the gag film from his "Naked Gun" series, there is no end to the procession of celebrity cameos, from rappers Lil Jon and Fabolous (??? F-A, B-O, what??) to credible actors like Michael Madsen and Bill Pullman. Did they even read a script or have they enrolled in the Christopher Walken Career Indifference Academy?

An endless, dimwitted spoof-a-thon, anchored by Faris' breathy ditziness and angelic smile, "Scary Movie 4" is one sequel too many. Never to be accused of being clever but certainly indicted for fun, "Scary 4" is one of those movies that you laugh at way more times than it truly deserves. That's not to say that I don't like lamebrain humor at times: I gave "The Benchwarmers" @@@, as I did the original "Scary Movie." Back then, under the auspices of the hit or hit themselves in the face Wayans Brothers, "Scary Movie" was brashly irreverent, hip, and meta in its spoofing tomfoolery of the horror movie genre. Now, that formula of mashing up B-movies without a common sense or tastefulness editor feels as fresh as Betamax in an HD-DVD world.

@@ REELS
(TWO REELS)
Extra medium

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES:30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare SCARY MOVIE 4 (PG-13) MOVIE BIASES: There needed to be a fourth? MAJOR PLAYERS: Anna Faris (Scary Movie 3), Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man), Regina Hall (Scary Movie 3), and director David Zucker (Scary Movie 3) Starting off with a Dr. Phil-Shaq "Saw"-like exchange that's one of the few clever sequences in the movie, "Scary 4" follows clueless Cindy Campbell (Faris) into a new profession, caregiver in a house haunted by a creepy, pale looking boy. But when the Earth is overrun by giant TriPods, her next door neighbor Tom Ryan (Bierko) teams up with her to stave off an alien invasion. Mommy, make the bad movie stop! Although it has its moments with sometimes inspired but cheap laughs at "War of the Worlds," "Brokeback Mountain," "The Grudge," "Saw," "The Village," and others, "Scary 4" sags with excessive, skin-crawlingly gross-out humor. Anna Faris plays a dumb blonde with admirable conviction while Regina Hall's blind dedication to oversexed Brenda is about the best thing in this film; gotta love her verve in the face of spotty writing. Weighing in with Leslie Nielsen, grandfather of the gag film from his "Naked Gun" series, there is no end to the procession of celebrity cameos, from rappers Lil Jon and Fabolous (??? F-A, B-O, what??) to credible actors like Michael Madsen and Bill Pullman. Did they even read a script or have they enrolled in the Christopher Walken Career Indifference Academy? An endless, dimwitted spoof-a-thon, anchored by Faris' breathy ditziness and angelic smile, "Scary Movie 4" is one sequel too many. Never to be accused of being clever but certainly indicted for fun, "Scary 4" is one of those movies that you laugh at way more times than it truly deserves. That's not to say that I don't like lamebrain humor at times: I gave "The Benchwarmers" @@@, as I did the original "Scary Movie." Back then, under the auspices of the hit or hit themselves in the face Wayans Brothers, "Scary Movie" was brashly irreverent, hip, and meta in its spoofing tomfoolery of the horror movie genre. Now, that formula of mashing up B-movies without a common sense or tastefulness editor feels as fresh as Betamax in an HD-DVD world. @@ REELS (TWO REELS) Extra medium Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com Â© 2004, Edwardo Jackson