One spoof too many

In a franchise that once seemed to have an endless possibility of sequels, "Scary Movie 4" has managed to suck all of the life out of the original premise that had made the films popular six years ago.

While the first three films managed to loosely follow some sort of storyline, director David Zucker ("My Boss's Daughter") abandons all hope of establishing any kind of comprehensible plot with this fourth installment. By haphazardly stringing together a series of unfunny spoofs, "Scary Movie 4" gives the impression that it was written in about 20 minutes, and only for the sake of cranking out another sequel.

Both "Scary Movie 3" and "4" were directed by Zucker, who managed to infuse a different type of comedy than in the first two, which were written and directed by the Wayans brothers. The two most recent films are based on shameless slapstick and running gags, which aren't as funny as the politically incorrect dirty jokes used in previous efforts.

The main reoccurring joke of "Scary Movie 4" is to have the actors get hit in the head in as many ways as possible, a gag that gets tired after a short while.

The movie begins with the opening scene from "Saw," starring Shaquille O'Neal and Dr. Phil, who play themselves. Unfortunately every gag from the scene was already shown in commercials, trailers, and even NBA advertisements. The humor behind Shaq's inability to hit a free throw faded about 10 years ago.

Ana Faris reprises her role as Cindy Campbell, who has inexplicably left her career as a news anchor in the previous movie to become a house sitter and an amateur detective. Faris manages to once again nail the part of the oblivious and dumbfounded heroine. It is her character that has remained a constant throughout all of the films, and she is one of the main reasons for the franchise's success.

Cindy Campbell ends up living in a haunted house similar to the one in "The Grudge," a horror film not even worth mocking. Next door to Cindy lives single father Tom Ryan, played by Craig Bierko ("Cinderella Man") who is a take on Tom Cruise's character from "War of the Worlds." He also delivers a great impression of Cruise on the Oprah show.

Also rejoining the cast for the fourth time is Regina King, who plays the loud-mouthed and highly sexual Brenda Meeks. Although Brenda died and was blown to pieces in the third movie, her reappearance is never actually explained. Once again the reprisal of a reoccurring role is key to the film, since King's character has been such a hilarious mainstay in the series. However, some of Brenda's shots at pop-culture icons such as R. Kelly are severely dated and have run out of steam.

Cindy and Brenda end up getting lost in "The Village" while Tom saves his family from the aliens. Leslie Nielson ("The Naked Gun," "Men With Brooms") reprises his role as the dimwitted president who manages to botch the response to the alien invasion. Regardless of his age, Nielson still has the ability to steal a scene, although it would be nice if someone would give him a decent story to work with.

Anthony Anderson ("My Baby's Daddy") and Kevin Hart ("Soul Plane") return to the series for a second time to spoof "Brokeback Mountain." There may have been a hundred gay cowboy jokes made since the movie was released months ago, but it is still priceless to see the two of them in a tent together lighting candles and singing Lionel Richie songs.

All in all, "Scary Movie 4" is undeniably the worst out of the four films, which have been declining over the years. Although a handful of the jokes packed some punch, the majority of them failed to breathe any life into a concept that may have already lost its luster. If anyone attempts to ever put out a "Scary Movie 5," it will need a huge change of direction in order to save the credibility of the earlier, funnier films.