The “Scary Movie” films seem to be better of video than they are in the theatres. Perhaps that’s because I anticipate more from a movie in the theatre. That could be because by the time I see the film on DVD, I’ve already seen it in the theatres and know what to expect. It could also be because the “Scary Movie” DVDs have been some of the better DVD collections out there.

“Scary Movie 4” is more of the same from director David Zucker, who took over the franchise from the Wayans brothers at number three. While Zucker has kept some of the urban influences of the films, especially the cameos by famous rappers and hip-hop artists, he has taken the films in a different direction.

Yes, these movies now have a stronger “Airplane!” feel to them because they’re made by the guys who did the original “Airplane!” spoof and redefined the genre. Zucker handles himself decently as a director in these films, and he seems to be liked by the actors because they all seem to return for the fourth installment.

However, the biggest change from the first two films is that Zucker has made these movies PG-13 for the theatrical releases. This is a distributor’s dream because that coveted PG-13 rating shows that it has some edge, but it’s still something that all the teenagers can go see without an adult. Fans of R-rated entertainment have complained endlessly about the “PG-13-ification of films,” but the studios don’t care.

What a PG-13 release also does is that it opens the door for an “Unrated” cut of the film to be released on DVD. Sometimes the “Unrated” version doesn’t really have many new things in it, but sometimes it does. In the case of “Scary Movie 4,” the unrated version is funnier and has better jokes in it. If you listen to the commentary track, you’ll hear the filmmakers point out what scenes were deleted from the theatrical version, and which were altered to present a more family-friendly comedy.

It is those family friendly moments that I found myself harping on in the theatrical release. For example, in a “Brokeback Mountain” parody, Kevin Hart offers a gerbil to Anthony Anderson. It’s hilarious to see this. However, the censors made the filmmakers digitally insert flowers over the gerbil as to not offend the PG-13 audience. (Of course, the filmmakers point out that if you know what the gerbil means, you can’t be corrupted by the joke; if you don’t know, you just won’t get it and thus still not be corrupted.)

Take “Scary Movie 4” on its merits, and you shouldn’t be disappointed. It’s just a running series of gags, sending up pop culture and recent films (not all of which are scary). Some targets include “War of the Worlds,” “Saw,” “The Village” and “The Grudge.” It also skewers Tom Cruise and the time he went completely bonkers on the Oprah show. These are all things you need to see to fully get the jokes in the film. If you haven’t seen these movies (or the famous couch-jumping Oprah clip), the movie will kinda suck.

As I said earlier, the DVD is an excellent one. It is loaded with extra features, many of which are pretty entertaining in themselves. There are fifteen deleted scenes, some of which really should have made it into the theatrical cut. There’s also several bloopers and spotlights on the director and the urban cameos in the movie. There are several behind-the-scenes features that discuss the aim of the comedy and how the visual effects were used to mimic major blockbusters at a fraction of the cost.

Of course, like “Scary Movie 3,” the best bonus feature is the commentary track that extends from the film into the deleted scenes. The filmmakers cringe as they relive the production, spending more time in self-deprecating discussions about what didn’t work. When they finally get to the deleted scenes, I find myself laughing out loud because it is such a tortuous process for these guys to watch their failed jokes bomb on DVD. Ultimately, this makes the DVD of these new Scary Movies some of the funniest moments around.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1). French language track. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.