Tara Reid explains why her 'Sharknado' movies are like the Super Bowl

July 30 (UPI) -- Actress Tara Reid says she thinks she knows why her Sharkando TV movies have become a summer tradition for millions of people.

"Today, in life, everything is so serious. There are so many bad things happening -- crime, war, the political stuff that we've gone through in this last year -- people look forward to these movies. It's almost like the Super Bowl," the 41-year-old actress told UPI in a recent phone interview. "It comes out once a year, they have Sharknado parties, they know it's going to be outrageous and they know it's going to be crazier than the last one and they sit together and they make drinking games of it. ... People go all out for it. They get people together and they have fun. And we get to make a movie that gets people together to celebrate and have fun. That's awesome."

Like its predecessors, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming is chock-full of celebrity cameos. Among those dropping by for 5 are Fabio, Tony Hawk, Clay Aiken, Olivia Newton-John and her daughter Chloe, Bret Michaels, Charo, Gilbert Gottfried, Al Roker, Chris Kattan, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

"Everyone loves being in it because everyone knows this is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously. It's a movie that is fun. It makes people have fun," Reid noted. "They're in it for the joke. They get it. Everyone wants to be part of something fun and that makes people happy."

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, co-starring Ian Ziering, is to debut on Syfy Sunday.