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Someone commented on my kicking the crap out of Scary Movie 4, saying "I wouldn't judge a franchise by the 4th movie in it.
Are there any *good* 4th movies in franchises?
Not that I've seen *any* of them, I don't watch horror movies so the references, clever or not, just wouldn't work for me, it just seems a little harsh."
Which is a fair comment. Most 4th movies are pale photocopies of the original. However, I do think that the adverts for the Scary Movie series are an accurate portrayal of what to expect from the franchise. Most film companies would put a range of their funniest jokes in the trailers. And none of the previous films got my interest with their trailers, either.
Here's the trailer for the first Scary Movie. I have seen all the films it's referencing in the trailer. The Matrix fight looks mildly amusing, but the only thing that made me laugh was the piano down the stairs.
Scary Movie 4 needs you to have seen the films it's sending up for the majority of its gags to work, and its 'original' gags just aren't that funny. At this point, and based on the trailers for Scary Movie 2 and SM 3, I can't see any reason why I would bother with the series. And if I'd rewatched the trailer for SM 4, I wouldn't have bothered to turn on the TV last night at all.
A good parody stands on its own without needing one to have seen the source material. If you know the things it's parodying, then that adds an extra dimension to it. Blazing Saddles is a good parody, as is something like Best in Show. They are funny without foreknowledge of the source material, because they are genuinely humourous in the first place, and generally have actors that are capable of good delivery and comic timing.
Spaceballs and Robin Hood - Men in Tights really need the audience to have seen the things they send up. They have whole sequences that don't work without that foreknowledge.
And while I admit these are definitely exceptions to the rule, here are a few good fourth-films. I'm not saying they are brilliant, most certainly aren't as good as the first in the series, but they are worth watching on their own merits or as a continuation of the story -
Tremors 4
You Only Live Twice
The Ghost of Frankenstein
House of Dracula
Tarzan Finds a Son!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm.
Naturally this is a purely subjective list, based on my personal tastes, and what I've seen. I haven't seen all the Die Hard films, for instance, or the fourth Hammer Horror Dracula and Frankenstein films, and I need to rewatch Elm St. 4 before I could comment fairly on it.
So, who has other fourth films to add to the list? Or other good/bad parody films?
Are there any *good* 4th movies in franchises?
Not that I've seen *any* of them, I don't watch horror movies so the references, clever or not, just wouldn't work for me, it just seems a little harsh."
Which is a fair comment. Most 4th movies are pale photocopies of the original. However, I do think that the adverts for the Scary Movie series are an accurate portrayal of what to expect from the franchise. Most film companies would put a range of their funniest jokes in the trailers. And none of the previous films got my interest with their trailers, either.
Here's the trailer for the first Scary Movie. I have seen all the films it's referencing in the trailer. The Matrix fight looks mildly amusing, but the only thing that made me laugh was the piano down the stairs.
Scary Movie 4 needs you to have seen the films it's sending up for the majority of its gags to work, and its 'original' gags just aren't that funny. At this point, and based on the trailers for Scary Movie 2 and SM 3, I can't see any reason why I would bother with the series. And if I'd rewatched the trailer for SM 4, I wouldn't have bothered to turn on the TV last night at all.
A good parody stands on its own without needing one to have seen the source material. If you know the things it's parodying, then that adds an extra dimension to it. Blazing Saddles is a good parody, as is something like Best in Show. They are funny without foreknowledge of the source material, because they are genuinely humourous in the first place, and generally have actors that are capable of good delivery and comic timing.
Spaceballs and Robin Hood - Men in Tights really need the audience to have seen the things they send up. They have whole sequences that don't work without that foreknowledge.
And while I admit these are definitely exceptions to the rule, here are a few good fourth-films. I'm not saying they are brilliant, most certainly aren't as good as the first in the series, but they are worth watching on their own merits or as a continuation of the story -
Tremors 4
You Only Live Twice
The Ghost of Frankenstein
House of Dracula
Tarzan Finds a Son!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm.
Naturally this is a purely subjective list, based on my personal tastes, and what I've seen. I haven't seen all the Die Hard films, for instance, or the fourth Hammer Horror Dracula and Frankenstein films, and I need to rewatch Elm St. 4 before I could comment fairly on it.
So, who has other fourth films to add to the list? Or other good/bad parody films?
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Spaceballs I possibly can't judge as well, since I was familiar with Star Wars when I saw it. But once again it seems to have a lot of gags that are based more on silly characters, silly situations and yeah, OK, toilet humour than on sending up any particular moment from the source material.
Maybe this misses the point of parody, since the films are being funny in their own right rather than funny in reference - but then again, as you point out, if something is only funny in reference then it's not very accessible to an audience.
From:
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While I like Spaceballs, it's funniest and best gag is lifted from a Warner Brothers cartoon. Unless I enjoy it a lot more on a rewatch, it's not a film I plan to ever own.
Life of Brian is a good parody/film in its own right. There's enough Christian mythos around that you can't help but get some of the jokes, though I know that non-christians who saw it often wondered what other people were laughing about in some scenes. That said, I know theologians who said they killed themselves laughing at bits where the general audience were quiet. Apparently there's a tonne of extra laughs to be had if you've seriously studied religion.
Now that is good writing.
From:
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Agreed, and that's also one of the things I loved about Shakespeare in Love. The more you know about Shakespeare, English history, theatre, or a variety of other subjects, the funnier it is.