Scary Movie 4
Encyclopedia
Scary Movie 4 is the fourth film of the Scary Movie
franchise, directed by David Zucker, written
by Jim Abrahams
, Craig Mazin
and Pat Proft
, and produced
by Craig Mazin
and Robert K. Weiss
. It is distributed by The Weinstein Company
via its Dimension Films
unit in the U.S. and Television, and internationally by Buena Vista Distribution
(Miramax). It was released on April 14, 2006. This was initially intended to be the final film in the Scary Movie franchise, but Scary Movie 5 was announced by The Weinstein Company
on December 20, 2009, setting for April 20, 2012 release.
This is also the second and final film in the series to star Leslie Nielsen
before his death in November 2010.
and Dr. Phil
waking up to find their ankles chained to pipes in the same rusty bathroom Adam and Lawrence from "Saw" woke up in. They have only two minutes to escape as their host, Billy the Puppet
, reveals that the room is filling up with nerve gas. Phil realises they have to cut through their own ankles, but accidentally saws off the wrong foot, inadvertently leaving both men to die, for their bones are seen later in the movie.
In New York, Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris
) visits her former brother-in-law Tom Logan (Charlie Sheen
). Since the previous film, her husband George has died and her nephew Cody has been sent to military school, leaving her a broken and lonely woman. Tom, equally depressed despite being in a relationship with three girls
, tries to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. However, he mistakenly ingests Viagra, resulting in a painful death when he tumbles over the balustrade and lands on his absurdly erect penis.
Distraught, Cindy accepts the job of caring for an incapacitated old lady, Mrs. Norris (Cloris Leachman
), who lives in a creepy and obviously haunted house which Tom had previously recommended her for. Meanwhile, Cindy's new neighbour, Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko
), runs into George's old friends, Mahalik (Anthony Anderson
) and CJ (Kevin Hart
), who unintentionally reveal they had a homosexual one night stand
since taking a trip to the mountains
, much to Tom's disgust and CJ's embarrassment. Tom returns home, where his ex-wife Marilyn (Molly Shannon
) has just arrived with his children, Robbie (Beau Mirchoff
) and Rachel (Conchita Campbell
), both of whom resent their father.
The next morning, Cindy confides with Tom, leading to a conversation about their past relationships. Cindy sadly remembers the tragic death of her husband George Logan (Simon Rex
) during the last match of her boxing career
against dimwitted Tiffany Stone. When Stone turned around to pick up a nickel, Cindy tries to swing at her but misses and loses her balance. George notices that she is about to land on a stool, and he jumps in the way to save her but he accidentally kills himself which results in a chain reaction of multiple people breaking their necks and dying. As the two realize their love for each other and kiss, the sky suddenly experiences a freak storm. A gigantic object called triPod
emerges from the ground to play "Karma Chameleon
" – before switching to "Destroy Humanity", transforming into a mobile weapon that vaporizes people into dust and ashes. Cindy runs back home and encounters the house’s resident ghost, Toshio. The Japanese boy reveals that the answer to the invasion lies in his father’s identity. Tom chooses to part ways with Cindy and flees with his children to an undisclosed location.
While visiting Edna R. Penhall Elementary School, President Baxter Harris (Leslie Nielsen
) receives news of the alien attack. Unfortunately, Harris is more interested by the reading of "My Pet Duck" and fails to respond appropriately. The situation only worsens when his aide explains that the duck dies, and the aide explains that the aliens are vaporizing people, which leads for the president to exclaim that all off these childrens parents could be dead, which culminates in a violent riot by the children. On his way out the president asks his aide to remind him to sign the abortion bill. Later, at an emergency session of the United Nations, Harris follows a round of offensive jokes with the unveiling of a weapon designed to combat the aliens. Scientists have modified the heat ray into having the opposite effect of destroying clothes. The UN gets an unexpected and quite unwelcome demonstration when Harris unwittingly causes the ray to render everybody stark naked, beginning with himself.
Cindy reunites with her old friend Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall
), now a local reporter despite having died in the previous film. The pair manage to find the last working car and follow the directions left by Toshio. Soon, they discover a mysterious village
which resembles a pseudo-Amish community. Unfortunately, they are captured and taken into a court to have their fate decided by village leader Henry Hale (Bill Pullman
). During the trial, Hale's blind daughter, Holly (Carmen Electra
), stumbles into the courtroom thinking she's alone she strips and has a large bowel movement in front of everyone. To the consternation of the crowded courtroom, Hale rules that Cindy and Brenda may stay in the village, but never leave.
In a nearby field strewn with red weed, Tom and his children run into a battle between the US military and the triPods. Robbie decides to join the fight, excited by the graphic violence. While Tom tries to dissuade him, Michael Jackson
tries to persuade Rachel to come along – but Tom manages to stop her in time, leaving the singer to be repeatedly disintegrated until only his nose remains. Tom and Rachel flee into a house guarded by the lunatic Oliver (Michael Madsen
), but their respite is short-lived when father and daughter are captured by a triPod. Back in the village, Henry gets stabbed by the mentally challenged Ezekiel (Chris Elliott
). A dying Henry explains to Cindy and Brenda that he is the father of Toshio, who was killed during the mass accident at Cindy’s boxing match. However, various events conspire against Henry revealing the full story, finally culminating in Cindy and Brenda being caught by the Command triPod.
The main characters wake up in the same bathroom from the opening. Cindy and Brenda find themselves wearing "Venus Fly Traps" and Tom wearing an absurd device designed to shoot a pole up his behind. Then Billy appears on the TV and tells them Cindy has 60 seconds to retrieve the key. After much prompting, Cindy realises that she has to retrieve the key from behind her eye – which she does without trouble, since the key was behind a glass eye she got following a “bad bar fight in '96”. Then both Rachel and Robbie come down from the ceiling, to be sliced into pieces unless Tom holds onto their rope, leaving him open to another, ultimately lethal torture device where his kids would be saved but he would suffer a terrible death. Moments before his imminent death, Cindy notices the toilet that has a heart drawn on it(the same toilet Adam found the hacksaws) and discovers pictures of Billy with Henry's wife and Toshio. Realising that Billy was the boy's biological father and the entire invasion is revenge for his son’s death, Cindy pleads him to call off the invasion. After seeing how far Tom would go to save his children's lives at the cost of his own, Billy spares their lives and grudgingly apologizes for killing millions of people and allows them to depart from the bathroom.
In an epilogue set nine months later, Brenda gives birth to the child of Billy's brother Zoltar, CJ and Mahalik resume their relationship, and President Harris is seen sleeping with a duck. James Earl Jones
narrates mankind's victory through love – before being run over by a passing bus. Meanwhile, Tom appears on Oprah, crazy for attention. Ultimately, following various increasingly destructive antics, Tom manically throws Cindy off the stage and rushes towards the camera as the screen goes black.
s record.
As of October 18, 2006, the film has grossed a total of $90,710,620 at the United States
box office and $178,262,620 worldwide.
gives the film a score of 37% based on 125 reviews.
Though for the most part it was received less favorably than the first three Scary Movies, with only the second one getting worse reviews, The New York Times
review was relatively positive: "Organized on the principle of parody, not plot..., it's an exercise in lowbrow postmodernism, a movie-movie contraption more nuts than Charlie Kaufman
's gnarliest fever dream."
s, blooper
s, and outtake
s. About 1,581,754 units were sold, bringing in $22,308,989 in revenue.
Scary Movie (series)
The Scary Movie series is a series of films mainly specializing in spoofing several popular horror films, which have collectively grossed over $818 million at the box-office worldwide...
franchise, directed by David Zucker, written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
by Jim Abrahams
Jim Abrahams
Jim Abrahams is an American movie director and writer.Abrahams was born in Shorewood, Wisconsin, to a Jewish family, and attended Shorewood High School...
, Craig Mazin
Craig Mazin
Craig Mazin is an American screenwriter and director.Mazin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Marlboro Township, New Jersey when he was a teen and attended Freehold High School which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from...
and Pat Proft
Pat Proft
Patrick "Pat" Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
, and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Craig Mazin
Craig Mazin
Craig Mazin is an American screenwriter and director.Mazin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Marlboro Township, New Jersey when he was a teen and attended Freehold High School which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from...
and Robert K. Weiss
Robert K. Weiss
Robert K. Weiss is an American film and television producer. His productions include films by director John Landis, producer Lorne Michaels, and the “Z. A. Z.” team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. He also co-created the science-fiction TV series Sliders...
. It is distributed by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
via its Dimension Films
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is a motion picture unit currently a part of The Weinstein Company. It was formerly used as Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax Films, to produce and release genre films...
unit in the U.S. and Television, and internationally by Buena Vista Distribution
Buena Vista Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. Buena Vista International was the international distribution arm, Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the firm's video and DVD distribution arm, and Buena Vista...
(Miramax). It was released on April 14, 2006. This was initially intended to be the final film in the Scary Movie franchise, but Scary Movie 5 was announced by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
on December 20, 2009, setting for April 20, 2012 release.
This is also the second and final film in the series to star Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
before his death in November 2010.
Plot
The film opens with Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
and Dr. Phil
Phil McGraw
Phillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...
waking up to find their ankles chained to pipes in the same rusty bathroom Adam and Lawrence from "Saw" woke up in. They have only two minutes to escape as their host, Billy the Puppet
Billy (Saw)
Billy is a puppet that has appeared in the Saw films. It was used by the series' primary antagonist John Kramer, a.k.a. Jigsaw, to communicate with his test subjects by delivering recorded messages, often appearing on a television screen or occasionally in person to describe the details of the...
, reveals that the room is filling up with nerve gas. Phil realises they have to cut through their own ankles, but accidentally saws off the wrong foot, inadvertently leaving both men to die, for their bones are seen later in the movie.
In New York, Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
) visits her former brother-in-law Tom Logan (Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
). Since the previous film, her husband George has died and her nephew Cody has been sent to military school, leaving her a broken and lonely woman. Tom, equally depressed despite being in a relationship with three girls
The Girls Next Door
The Girls Next Door, also known as The Girls of the Playboy Mansion, is an American reality television series broadcast on the E! cable television network...
, tries to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. However, he mistakenly ingests Viagra, resulting in a painful death when he tumbles over the balustrade and lands on his absurdly erect penis.
Distraught, Cindy accepts the job of caring for an incapacitated old lady, Mrs. Norris (Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
), who lives in a creepy and obviously haunted house which Tom had previously recommended her for. Meanwhile, Cindy's new neighbour, Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko
Craig Bierko
Craig Philip Bierko is an American actor and singer.-Early life:Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, the son of Pat and Rex Bierko, who ran a local community theatre. Bierko's mother was a Jewish convert to Roman Catholicism...
), runs into George's old friends, Mahalik (Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas such as K-Ville, The...
) and CJ (Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart (actor)
Kevin Hart is an American actor and stand-up comedian.-Early life and career:Hart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his single mother...
), who unintentionally reveal they had a homosexual one night stand
One Night Stand
One Night Stand is an HBO stand-up series that first aired on February 15, 1989. The half-hour series aired weekly and featured stand-up comedy specials from some of the top performing comedians. The series originally comprised 55 specials over the course of its four years on HBO...
since taking a trip to the mountains
Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
, much to Tom's disgust and CJ's embarrassment. Tom returns home, where his ex-wife Marilyn (Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon
Molly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
) has just arrived with his children, Robbie (Beau Mirchoff
Beau Mirchoff
William Beau Mirchoff is an American actor, best known for starring as Danny Bolen on the sixth season of ABC's Desperate Housewives . He also appeared in films such as Scary Movie 4 and The Grudge 3...
) and Rachel (Conchita Campbell
Conchita Campbell
Conchita Elizabeth Campbell is a Canadian actress.-Biography:Campbell was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known for her role as Maia Skouris on the hit USA channel miniseries and show The 4400, on which she portrays a child who's been missing for decades and returns unaged and with...
), both of whom resent their father.
The next morning, Cindy confides with Tom, leading to a conversation about their past relationships. Cindy sadly remembers the tragic death of her husband George Logan (Simon Rex
Simon Rex
Simon Rex is an American actor, comedian, television host and recording artist. He is known for starring as Jeff Campbell in What I Like About You, during the first season.-Early life:...
) during the last match of her boxing career
Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
against dimwitted Tiffany Stone. When Stone turned around to pick up a nickel, Cindy tries to swing at her but misses and loses her balance. George notices that she is about to land on a stool, and he jumps in the way to save her but he accidentally kills himself which results in a chain reaction of multiple people breaking their necks and dying. As the two realize their love for each other and kiss, the sky suddenly experiences a freak storm. A gigantic object called triPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
emerges from the ground to play "Karma Chameleon
Karma Chameleon
"Karma Chameleon" is a song by British New Wave band Culture Club, featured on the group's 1983 album Colour by Numbers. The song spent three weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, becoming the group's biggest hit and only US #1 among their many top ten hits...
" – before switching to "Destroy Humanity", transforming into a mobile weapon that vaporizes people into dust and ashes. Cindy runs back home and encounters the house’s resident ghost, Toshio. The Japanese boy reveals that the answer to the invasion lies in his father’s identity. Tom chooses to part ways with Cindy and flees with his children to an undisclosed location.
While visiting Edna R. Penhall Elementary School, President Baxter Harris (Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
) receives news of the alien attack. Unfortunately, Harris is more interested by the reading of "My Pet Duck" and fails to respond appropriately. The situation only worsens when his aide explains that the duck dies, and the aide explains that the aliens are vaporizing people, which leads for the president to exclaim that all off these childrens parents could be dead, which culminates in a violent riot by the children. On his way out the president asks his aide to remind him to sign the abortion bill. Later, at an emergency session of the United Nations, Harris follows a round of offensive jokes with the unveiling of a weapon designed to combat the aliens. Scientists have modified the heat ray into having the opposite effect of destroying clothes. The UN gets an unexpected and quite unwelcome demonstration when Harris unwittingly causes the ray to render everybody stark naked, beginning with himself.
Cindy reunites with her old friend Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall
Regina Hall
Regina Hall is an American film and television actress known for her lead role of Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie films and as Corretta Lipp in the FOX comedy-drama Ally McBeal.-Personal life:...
), now a local reporter despite having died in the previous film. The pair manage to find the last working car and follow the directions left by Toshio. Soon, they discover a mysterious village
The Village (2004 film)
The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...
which resembles a pseudo-Amish community. Unfortunately, they are captured and taken into a court to have their fate decided by village leader Henry Hale (Bill Pullman
Bill Pullman
William James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
). During the trial, Hale's blind daughter, Holly (Carmen Electra
Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...
), stumbles into the courtroom thinking she's alone she strips and has a large bowel movement in front of everyone. To the consternation of the crowded courtroom, Hale rules that Cindy and Brenda may stay in the village, but never leave.
In a nearby field strewn with red weed, Tom and his children run into a battle between the US military and the triPods. Robbie decides to join the fight, excited by the graphic violence. While Tom tries to dissuade him, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
tries to persuade Rachel to come along – but Tom manages to stop her in time, leaving the singer to be repeatedly disintegrated until only his nose remains. Tom and Rachel flee into a house guarded by the lunatic Oliver (Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
), but their respite is short-lived when father and daughter are captured by a triPod. Back in the village, Henry gets stabbed by the mentally challenged Ezekiel (Chris Elliott
Chris Elliott
Christopher Nash "Chris" Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman, starring in the cult comedy series Get a Life and for his recurring role as Peter MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond...
). A dying Henry explains to Cindy and Brenda that he is the father of Toshio, who was killed during the mass accident at Cindy’s boxing match. However, various events conspire against Henry revealing the full story, finally culminating in Cindy and Brenda being caught by the Command triPod.
The main characters wake up in the same bathroom from the opening. Cindy and Brenda find themselves wearing "Venus Fly Traps" and Tom wearing an absurd device designed to shoot a pole up his behind. Then Billy appears on the TV and tells them Cindy has 60 seconds to retrieve the key. After much prompting, Cindy realises that she has to retrieve the key from behind her eye – which she does without trouble, since the key was behind a glass eye she got following a “bad bar fight in '96”. Then both Rachel and Robbie come down from the ceiling, to be sliced into pieces unless Tom holds onto their rope, leaving him open to another, ultimately lethal torture device where his kids would be saved but he would suffer a terrible death. Moments before his imminent death, Cindy notices the toilet that has a heart drawn on it(the same toilet Adam found the hacksaws) and discovers pictures of Billy with Henry's wife and Toshio. Realising that Billy was the boy's biological father and the entire invasion is revenge for his son’s death, Cindy pleads him to call off the invasion. After seeing how far Tom would go to save his children's lives at the cost of his own, Billy spares their lives and grudgingly apologizes for killing millions of people and allows them to depart from the bathroom.
In an epilogue set nine months later, Brenda gives birth to the child of Billy's brother Zoltar, CJ and Mahalik resume their relationship, and President Harris is seen sleeping with a duck. James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
narrates mankind's victory through love – before being run over by a passing bus. Meanwhile, Tom appears on Oprah, crazy for attention. Ultimately, following various increasingly destructive antics, Tom manically throws Cindy off the stage and rushes towards the camera as the screen goes black.
Cast
- Anna FarisAnna FarisAnna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
as Cindy Campbell - Regina HallRegina HallRegina Hall is an American film and television actress known for her lead role of Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie films and as Corretta Lipp in the FOX comedy-drama Ally McBeal.-Personal life:...
as Brenda Meeks - Craig BierkoCraig BierkoCraig Philip Bierko is an American actor and singer.-Early life:Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, the son of Pat and Rex Bierko, who ran a local community theatre. Bierko's mother was a Jewish convert to Roman Catholicism...
as Tom Ryan - Bill PullmanBill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Henry Hale - Leslie NielsenLeslie NielsenLeslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
as President Harris - Carmen ElectraCarmen ElectraTara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...
as Holly - Chris ElliottChris ElliottChristopher Nash "Chris" Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman, starring in the cult comedy series Get a Life and for his recurring role as Peter MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond...
as Ezekiel - Michael MadsenMichael MadsenMichael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
as Oliver - Molly ShannonMolly ShannonMolly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
as Marilyn - Beau MirchoffBeau MirchoffWilliam Beau Mirchoff is an American actor, best known for starring as Danny Bolen on the sixth season of ABC's Desperate Housewives . He also appeared in films such as Scary Movie 4 and The Grudge 3...
as Robbie Ryan - Conchita CampbellConchita CampbellConchita Elizabeth Campbell is a Canadian actress.-Biography:Campbell was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is known for her role as Maia Skouris on the hit USA channel miniseries and show The 4400, on which she portrays a child who's been missing for decades and returns unaged and with...
as Rachel Ryan - Anthony AndersonAnthony AndersonAnthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas such as K-Ville, The...
as Mahalik - Kevin HartKevin Hart (actor)Kevin Hart is an American actor and stand-up comedian.-Early life and career:Hart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his single mother...
as CJ - DeRay DavisDeRay DavisDeRay Davis is an American stand-up comedian and actor. DeRay began his career in the comedy clubs. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, He won the Comedy Central Laugh Riots Competition and was a standout on the Cedric the Entertainer Tour...
as Marvin - Cloris LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
as Ms. Norris - Henry Mah as Mr. Koji
- Patrice O'Neal as Rashed/CrackHead
- Garrett Masuda as Toshio Saeki
- Kathryn Dobbs as School Teacher
- Link Baker as Zoltar (voice)
- Angelique Naude as Waitress
- Rorelee Tio as Yoko
- Allison Warren as Polish Delegate
- Edward MossEdward Moss (impersonator)Edward Moss is an American actor and impersonator of late pop musician Michael Jackson.While working at McDonald's in the early 1990s, he practiced his act in his spare time after being repeatedly told how much he resembled the singer...
as Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records... - Champagne Powell as Don King
- Dave AttellDave AttellDave Attell is an American stand-up comedian and the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell and The Gong Show with Dave Attell.-Stand-up beginning:...
as Knifeman - John ReardonJohn ReardonJohn Reardon is a Canadian former all-star college football player for Mount Allison University . He started acting in 2001 and has appeared in several TV shows and movies, such as Tru Calling as Randall Thompson, White Chicks as Heath, Scary Movie 4 as Jeremiah and Merlin's Apprentice as...
as Jeremiah - Kimani Ray Smith as Cutman
- Dale Wolfe as Hang Gliding Man
Cameo appearances
- Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'NealShaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
as himself - Dr. Phil as himself
- Simon RexSimon RexSimon Rex is an American actor, comedian, television host and recording artist. He is known for starring as Jeff Campbell in What I Like About You, during the first season.-Early life:...
as George Logan - Charlie SheenCharlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
as Tom Logan (uncredited) - Debra WilsonDebra WilsonDebra Wilson Skelton , professionally known as Debra Wilson or Debra Wilzon, is an American comedienne and actress. Wilson is likely most famous for being the second longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv, having appeared for the show's first eight seasons...
as Oprah WinfreyOprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011... - James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
as narrator (uncredited) - Holly MadisonHolly MadisonHollin Sue Cullen, professionally known as Holly Madison, is an American model, showgirl and television personality. She is widely known for being one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends on the reality television series The Girls Next Door...
, Bridget MarquardtBridget MarquardtBridget Marquardt is an American television personality, model, and actress. She is best known for her role on the reality television series The Girls Next Door, which depicts her life as one of Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner's girlfriends...
and Kendra WilkinsonKendra WilkinsonKendra Leigh Baskett , professionally known by her maiden name, is an American television personality and glamour model...
as girls in Tom's bed - Lil' Jon as fancy car driver
- FabolousFabolousJohn David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
as himself/gunman - ChingyChingyHoward Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...
as himself - Crystal LoweCrystal LoweCrystal Lowe is a Canadian-born actress best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.-Early life:...
as Chingy's girl - Bubba SparxxxBubba SparxxxWarren Anderson Mathis , known by his stage name Bubba Sparxxx, is an American Southern rapper. His biggest hit is "Ms. New Booty" featuring The Ying Yang Twins which peaked at #7 in the United States...
as hoodlum - Bone Crusher as hoodlum
- Sean P and J-BoJ-BoJeffrey Ray Grigsby better known by his stage name J-Bo, is an American rapper and one half of the group YoungBloodZ.Born in Decatur, Georgia, J-Bo has performed, without Sean P, on various singles by other artists...
as YoungbloodzYoungBloodZYoungBloodZ are an American Southern rap duo from Atlanta, Georgia, comprising members J-Bo and Sean P YoungBloodZ are an American Southern rap duo from Atlanta, Georgia, comprising members J-Bo (born Jeffrey Ray Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P YoungBloodZ are an American Southern rap duo...
Parodies
As with the other films in the series, Scary Movie 4 parodies a wide array of movies and television shows.- Saw (franchise) - Billy the Puppet serves as the parody antagonist.
- SawSaw (film)Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
– the opening scene with ShaqShaquille O'NealShaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
, Dr. PhilPhil McGrawPhillip Calvin McGraw best known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, former psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002...
and the Billy puppetBilly (Saw)Billy is a puppet that has appeared in the Saw films. It was used by the series' primary antagonist John Kramer, a.k.a. Jigsaw, to communicate with his test subjects by delivering recorded messages, often appearing on a television screen or occasionally in person to describe the details of the...
. The same set would be reused in future installments of the actual franchise. - Saw IISaw IISaw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
– Cindy and Brenda both wear Venus Flytraps, and Cindy must retrieve a key hidden behind her eye.
- Saw
- The VillageThe Village (2004 film)The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...
– central parody. - The GrudgeThe GrudgeThe Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge, and the first horror film in the Ju-on series, Ju-on 1. The film is the first installment in the American horror film series The Grudge...
– central parody. - War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds (2005 film)War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
– central parody - Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
– Cindy's boxing match against a female Mike TysonMike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
. - Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
– CJ and Mahalik’s flirting inside the tent. - Hustle & FlowHustle & FlowHustle & Flow is a 2005 independent drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton. Terrence Howard stars as a Memphis hustler and pimp who faces his aspiration to become a rapper...
– Cindy's brief first marriage. - Deuce Bigalow: European GigoloDeuce Bigalow: European GigoloDeuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is the 2005 sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, from Happy Madison Productions. Rob Schneider returns in the role of a male prostitute Deuce Bigalow who visits his former pimp T.J...
– Tom Logan's penisPenisThe penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
gets attacked by a cat. - Scooby Doo - Cindy unmasks "the creatures", discovering Old Lady Henderson and Pig Face Joe
- The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
– Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
’s "jumping the couch" incident. - Bush's 9/11 book reading incident – President Harris listening to a girl reading a book about a duck at the Edna R. Penhall Elementary School, while being informed about the alien attacks.
- King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
– Kong is featured on the cover poster, but makes no appearance in the movie.
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $40.2 million, the third best opening weekend of the Scary Movie franchise. It has the best Easter weekend opening weekend ever, beating Panic Room (film) which made $30.1 million in its opening and also the second best April opening, only $2 million behind Anger ManagementAnger Management
Anger Management is a 2003 slapstick comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson, directed by Peter Segal and written by David S. Dorfman...
s record.
As of October 18, 2006, the film has grossed a total of $90,710,620 at the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
box office and $178,262,620 worldwide.
Critical response
The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a score of 37% based on 125 reviews.
Though for the most part it was received less favorably than the first three Scary Movies, with only the second one getting worse reviews, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
review was relatively positive: "Organized on the principle of parody, not plot..., it's an exercise in lowbrow postmodernism, a movie-movie contraption more nuts than Charlie Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman
Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. His film work includes Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York...
's gnarliest fever dream."
Home release
The film was released on DVD on August 15, 2006 in rated (83 minutes) and unrated (89 minutes) editions with deleted sceneDeleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, blooper
Blooper
A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
s, and outtake
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s. About 1,581,754 units were sold, bringing in $22,308,989 in revenue.