Cindy Campbell is a fictional character from the Scary Movie franchise. Portrayed by Anna Faris and created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the character first appeared in Scary Movie. In the film, whose main parodies are the Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer franchises, Cindy shares a role similar to Sidney Prescott and Julie James. Faris would reprise her role of Cindy in the film's sequels. In Scary Movie 2, Cindy is attending college and with her friends, goes to Hell House for Professor Oldman's experiment. Here, her role is based on Eleanor from The Haunting. In Scary Movie 3, where her role is based on Rachel Keller from The Ring, she is portrayed as a news presenter and has a nephew, Cody. After seeing Tabitha's cursed tape, she tries to stop her before seven days pass and she dies. In Scary Movie 4, Cindy parodies Karen Davis from The Grudge and attempts to stop the alien attack with the help of Brenda. Up until the fourth installment, Faris and Regina Hall, who portrayed Brenda Meeks, were the only cast members to appear in every installment of the franchise. Faris didn't return for Scary Movie 5 and Cindy was replaced by Ashley Tisdale's character, Jody Sanders. Critical response to Faris' portrayal has been positive.
Appearances
''Scary Movie''
Cindy is a high school student attending B. A. Corpse High School with her boyfriend Bobby Prinze. Their friends include Brenda Meeks, Buffy Gilmore, Ray Wilkins and Greg Phillipe. Despite being in a committed relationship with Bobby, the two of them still haven't consummated their relationship. Following Drew Decker's death, it's revealed that one year prior, the six of them had accidentally ran over a man while drinking. While the man was unharmed, they didn't notice and after accidentally knocking him unconscious, dumped his body at a pier. Later the same day, she notices Ghostface outside her classroom and a note on her desk telling her that "they know what she did last Halloween". After being attacked by Ghostface, she assumes that Bobby is the killer and gets him arrested. After the real killer calls her, she decides to invite her friends to keep each other safe. Thanks to Shorty, the small get-together turns into a party. After having sex with Bobby, it's revealed that he is gay and in a relationship with Ray. Despite killing Shorty, they reveal to her that they're copycats of the real killer who appears and kills both of them. After knocking him out, Cindy is taken to the police station where she realizes Doofy, Buffy's brother, is the killer. Despite running after him, Doofy manages to escape, leaving Cindy screaming in the middle of the street, only to get ran over by a car.
''Scary Movie 2''
One year after the events of the previous film, Cindy is attending college with Brenda, Shorty and Ray, despite all three of them having died in the previous film and the latter having tried to kill her.
''Scary Movie 3''
Now a journalist, Cindy has custody of her paranormally gifted nephew, Cody. She again meets Brenda, now a teacher. Unnerved, Brenda asks Cindy to stay with her for the night, when she says she watched a cursed tape. Brenda is murdered by a supernatural girl named Tabitha after failing to turn off the TV. Cindy goes after the answer to the curse of the tape, discovering that aliens are also involved, all while trying to protect Cody and her new friends, Logan, his daughter and Cindy's love interest, George. After breaking the curse, she marries George.
''Scary Movie 4''
Development
Parody and inspiration
In Scary Movie, Cindy is a parody of Sidney Prescott from Scream and Julie James from I Know What You Did Last Summer. Her first name is a play on Sidney, while her last name is taken from Neve Campbell, who portrayed Sidney in the Scream franchise.
Casting and portrayal
In an interview with People, it was revealed that Anna Faris beat out about hundreds of actresses who auditioned for the role of Cindy. Keenen Ivory Wayans, director of the first two films, said about Faris that "there was a great freshness about her, because had nothing to lose. She didn't think in a million years she was going to get the part". Faris revealed that Scary Movie was her first Hollywood audition and that she highly enjoyed working on the franchise as it allowed her to be funny, feeling that female characters aren't often allowed to be funny in films. Additionally, she stated that one of the things she like about the franchise is that " can spoof whatever take what's popular at the moment and slide it into a very complicated plot structure".
Reception
Critical response
Bruce G. Hallenbeck, in his book Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914–2008, described Faris as "the real discovery of Scary Movie, the one performer who tries valiantly to hold everything together".
