Scary Movie 4 (2006)

This one revolves around spoofs that include Saw, War of the Worlds, The Village and Ju-On/The Grudge. Except so little of it organically fits together. This one is easily the worst of the franchise. It feels like all the humor has been sucked out of this series. How did it fall so far from such great heights?

1 Viagra boner out of 5

Scary Movie 3 (2003)

The third in the series loses the secret weapon of the Wayans and installs the director of The Naked Gun, while lowering the rating from R to PG-13. It gets dumb in a hurry, with most of the humor coming from broad physical gags and people getting hurt. I was always disappointed how quickly it devolves into lowest common denominator humor, but watching it with fresh eyes, it has a lot going for it. As long as you don't directly compare this to the two films that preceded it, it's rather enjoyable in a way. Parodies include The Ring and Signs.

2½ cursed tapes out of 5

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)

Police Lieutenant Frank Drebin is back, where he investigates a bombing and stumbles into a criminal conspiracy involving Big Oil. As always, the plot of these movies is secondary to the succession of rapid-fire jokes and sight gags that are hidden in every scene. Admittedly, there is a big drop off in quality, but Leslie Nielsen is so effortlessly brilliant in the role, even when the jokes don't land, he still pulls it off with style and ease. It's top-loaded with enough irreverence and slapstick humor to put a smirk on your face if you're into this brand of over-the-top comedy. Just adjust your expectations accordingly, turn your brain to the "off" position and strap in for stupidity and big laughs.

3¼ Black Russians out of 5

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

What began as a low-rated six-episode spoof of M Squad and other police procedurals of the day became a highly popular film franchise starring the inimitable Leslie Nielsen as the bumbling Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad. Following the trademark irreverent humor of ZAZ, it features slapstick, sight gags, wordplay, non sequiturs, sexual innuendo and laugh out loud absurdity. The reason these movies succeed and continue to persist is because of the brilliance and comic timing of Leslie Nielsen, who always plays it straight and never acknowledges the ridiculousness of the situation. In terms of laughs per minute, you're getting your money's worth here. This is a movie you can watch multiple times and catch something new each time. This review might as well extend to the entirety of Police Squad!, which was chock-full of subversive humor and ingenuity. These films remain at the top of the comedy lovers' pile.

4½ stuffed beavers out of 5

Note: The original series, Police Squad! (1982), gets 5 sirens out of 5 from me.

Ruthless People (1986)

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker reunited on one last film before going their separate ways in the '90s. In a departure from their previous spoof style, they tackle a dark plot involving kidnapping, blackmail and murder which goes all sorts of wrong. Danny DeVito plays a man who despises his wife (Bette Midler) and plans to have her killed, when he finds out she's been taken and held at ransom by two desperate captors who don't know what they're doing. In some ways, this satirical black comedy feels like a precursor to Fargo. The result is wildly uneven at times, even though it contains many memorable moments.

2½ Stockholm syndromes out of 5

Top Secret! (1984)

What happens when you mishmash Elvis Presley musicals, WWII and Cold War-era spy films together? A highly uneven effort from Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker.

Val Kilmer makes his auspicious film debut as American rock 'n' roll star Nick Rivers, who gets invited to East Germany to perform, where he inadvertently becomes mixed up in the resistance. The plot is largely irrelevant, as it merely provides the framework for a quick-fire series of gags and non-sequiturs. This is a movie I always think I'll like a lot more than I do, but what counts most is that it's relentlessly funny, which is really all that matters in a spoof comedy.

3 Swedish bookstores out of 5

Airplane! (1980)

From the brainchild of ZAZ (Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker) comes a spoof classic that is so immensely quotable and laugh-a-minute funny, it belongs on the pantheon of great comedy movies. What began as a humorous send-up of disaster films such as Zero Hour! (1957) and the Airport series ended up as the blueprint for every parody movie to come. It comes at a time when serious actors like Peter Graves and Lloyd Bridges weren't afraid to take the piss out of themselves. Of these, Leslie Nielsen (known for dramatic roles at the time) made his transition to deadpan comedy icon. Packed to the brim with slapstick, sight gags, puns, one-liners and clever wordplay, it's a relentless barrage of lowbrow silliness that is still considered one of the funniest films of all time.

5 Shirleys out of 5

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

The classic sketch comedy movie from the Kentucky Fried Theater troupe (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker) is presented as a series of highly irreverent programming on a local TV station, with fake commercials, news segments, movie trailers and a "feature film" (the Bruce Lee parody "A Fistful of Yen"). It's only the latter segment which weighs the middle of the movie down by being a bit too long, although it's filled with memorable moments that have persisted in my memory. It's gleefully profane and "of its time," and the type of humor you wouldn't be able to get away with nowadays, which is its main selling point. As with the nature of all sketch comedy, it can be hit or miss at times, but this is mostly hit. There are so many overlaps between this and The Groove Tube, I think one must have influenced the other.

3½ "Films at 11" out of 5