The Naked Gun is a solid remake/sequel to the outlandish, funny Naked Gun trilogy of films that were inspired by the short-lived Police Squad! TV series, all starring Leslie Nielsen.
Lieutenant Frank Drebin, Jr. (Liam Neeson) of Police Squad investigates a murder that involves a sister, Beth (Pamela Anderson), and a hi-tech company. As they probe deeper, Frank and Beth discover there’s more subterfuge to the case, and naturally this leads to a diabolical plot for world domination. Can Frank get to the truth and save the day?
At a lean 85 minute runtime, the film plays loose and fast with its narrative, but that doesn’t matter when the humor is ‘off the wall’. Never taking things seriously, there are puns and sight gags galore that threaten to break the ‘fourth wall’, and though some of the jokes misfire, they keep flowing. Playing it straight, Neeson is the lynchpin that makes this crazy comedy work from director/cowriter Akiva Schaffer (Saturday Night Live) while Anderson has reinvented herself as a bona fide star. Both Neeson and Anderson produce real screen chemistry that works to the film’s advantage.
Best
shared with an audience, this is the kind of genre that has rarely been represented
of late but was plentiful especially in the 1980’s and 1990’s (Airplane, Hot Shots). Is it better
than the previous films? Not really, but it is a ridiculous, yet sweet homage to
the original and a welcome return to sorely missed comedy. Now a new generation of filmgoers can
experience and enjoy the first of what will likely be more of these silly,
enjoyable movies. As always with these
films, there are a couple of amusing cameos, and pay attention for some amusing end credits and scenes.
****
of ***** stars (for Police Squad
fans)
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