"Scary Movie 4" * (out of four):Depressingly scattershot parody barely held together by its own scatology.

I can understand why Anna Faris (a likable actress and general good sport) signed on to the first and even the second “Scary Movie”. As a young actress this franchise must have seemed like a way to open doors for a serious acting career. Okay, I’ll even give her the benefit of the doubt for “Scary Movie 3”, when the franchise reigns were handed from the Wayans brothers to David Zucker. Working with one third of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker combo that launched the genre which is the raison d’etre of this series must have seemed like an opportunity. But after SM3 proved to be as unfunny as it was un-scary, I wouldn’t have blamed Ms. Faris for calling it quits. And yet, here’s “Scary Movie 4”, the latest attempt to ring some dollars out of the pockets of moviegoers eager for a quick fart-related laugh.

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