In 1988, Leslie Nielsen (Airplane!) took on the role of Lieutenant Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The Dragnet parody became a box office hit, making $152 million dollars on a $14 million dollar budget. It also received critical acclaim and has gone on to be considered one of the greatest comedies of all time. It was followed up by two sequels - The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult - for a profitable trilogy. Thirty-seven years later, Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson; Schindler's List) follows in his father's footsteps (no, not literally), solving crimes as a member of Police Squad!
Dressed as a little schoolgirl, Drebin Jr. enters a bank that is in the process of being held up. He thwarts the robbers and saves the day, but gets demoted for his actions. The next day, he investigates a car crash that seems like an open-and-shut case of suicide. However, when the victim's sister, Beth (Pamela Anderson; The Last Showgirl), visits Drebin Jr. and claims her brother wouldn't have committed suicide, the detective begins to look at the car crash in a different light. Putting together the pieces of the puzzle, Drebin Jr. suspects Richard Cane (Danny Huston; X‑Men Origins: Wolverine), the rich and influential, tech entrepreneur, has something to do with the bank robbery and the crash but he needs Beth's and his partner, Ed's (Paul Walter Hauser; Blackbird) help to prove his theory.
Written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand (How I Met Your Mother), and Avika Schaffer (Saturday Night Live) and directed by Schaffer, The Naked Gun employs the same "punny", stupid humor as its predecessors and while some jokes from the past can no longer be used in today's politically correct society, they still manage to create numerous funny moments throughout the movie. The NSFW turkey basting scene is particularly memorable, whereas the Mission: Impossible rip-off goes on too long and loses steam with each reveal, as does the coffee gag. Schaffer also does a decent job keeping the pace moving, but there were times when the movie turned boring, even though it was only 85 minutes long.
Neeson's deadpan delivery is reminiscent of Nielsen's but never quite reaches the same gravitas that made Nielsen's portrayal so funny. He has some great moments and occasionally even cracks a smile, but we are used to seeing him play the intense, serious character in a drama, and it is just a little bit odd seeing him in a comedy - even if he is portraying the serious guy. Anderson plays into her former bombshell persona while not coming off as a "dumb blonde" cliché. Between this film and The Last Showgirl, she is morphing into a serious actress and putting her sex symbol past behind her, and it is a pleasure to see. The rest of the ensemble fall in line and play their roles decently.
The late 80s, early 90s comedies - especially those starring Nielsen - evoked a special kind of stupid humor that has rarely been seen in the last 25‑30 years. This may be due, in part, to the uprising of superhero films and action-adventure films that seem to have jumped to the forefront in the past several years. However, a well-made parody with puns abounding will always have a place in American Cinema, and The Naked Gun reminds us of these types of movies. While not on the same level as its predecessors, this attempt to bring back the genre is a solid start.
Is The Naked Gun funny? Yes. Is it stupid? Also, yes. Does it pay homage to those older movies? Absolutely! Should you go see it in the theaters? Without a doubt.
Laugh, groan, enjoy, let go of your cares for a while amongst a group of like-minded individuals. It is the best way to see The Naked Gun, as you sit in a room laughing at the stupidity of it all with others who feel the exact same way.
Grade: B‑
