April 4, 2006

How hard is it to not like Anna Faris?

Few actors can walk into a room of reporters and mock themselves by taking a dramatic sign and then deadpanning a line such as, "Doing silly little movies like 'Brokeback Mountain' enabled me to do movies like 'Scary Movie 4.'"

And immediately the journalists burst into laughter, because nothing could be further from the truth. Faris got her first big break playing the Sarah Michelle Gellar-inspired Cindy Campbell in the original "Scary Movie" but has spent the last few years giving impressive performances in more serious films such as "Lost in Translation" and "Brokeback." However, her fans know her first and foremost from the popular "Scary" franchise, and this time around they can look forward to finding the seemingly always out-of-breath Cindy mocking films such as "Saw," "The Grudge," "The Village" and "War of the Worlds."

Only in the "Scary" franchise could a character become "a little bit more naïve and probably less intelligent" with each subsequent movie, according to Faris.

"In this one, I think I've become more selfish and self-absorbed, which I think is hysterical," Faris says. "That's why I think it's totally appropriate that Cindy gets hit frequently, because she's so sweet, but mildly annoying. And you have to take her down every now and then."

The Baltimore native, who majored in English literature at the University of Washington in Seattle, is incredibly recognizable to anyone younger than 25, but leading roles outside of the "Scary" series haven't exactly come her way. Faris says she's slowly chipping away at Hollywood execs who don't know what to do with her, and the results are starting to show. This summer she'll be seen alongside Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" as the new girl that threatens the superhero played by Thurman. And at the moment, she's filming the offbeat comedy "Smiley Face" for indie director Gregg Araki.

"It's about a girl who smokes a lot of weed," Faris says. "[She] accidentally eats 12 pot-laced cupcakes and has a really crazy adventure. It's also not necessarily an endorsement of weed, which will make my mom happy. She was a little worried about me playing a stoner. I thought I broke her in with the 'Scary Movies.'"

And as for the inevitable "Scary Movie 5"?

"Oh, no. Hopefully they won't call me for the fifth one," Faris says, laughing to herself. "No, that's not true, because I actually do have a great time making these movies."

That's a relief for millions of Faris fans, because a "Scary Movie" wouldn't be one without her.

"Scary Movie 4" opens nationwide April 14.