The Naked Gun Review

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Released: 1988

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad was the brainchild of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers, the trio responsible not only for the short-lived 80's television series of the same name (Police Squad) but also for one of comedy's most beloved classics: Airplane! Striking comedy gold repeatedly is a difficult task, but it's also one that the above trio were perfectly qualified to attempt.

Unbeknownst to many of us, The Naked Gun was derived from a television series by the name of Police Squad, which starred the inimitable Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin. The series was a spoof on popular police dramas, and contained a continual stream of sight gags and brilliant word play. For whatever reason, this 1982 series lasted only six episodes before disappearing into the annals of television history.

Luckily in 1988 the legend of Detective Frank Drebin lived on in the form of The Naked Gun, a movie that became a smash success and spawned two sequels. Leslie Nielsen reprised his role as the bumbling detective, exhibiting the same deadpan style of humor that made him a comedy sensation. Surrounded by other strong actors with a knack for comedy (Ricardo Montalban, Priscilla Presley and George Kennedy were standouts), the film provides plenty of gut-busting laughs.

The storyline centers on a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, who is visiting the United States for business and pleasure. It is up to Drebin to uncover the nefarious plot and stop the unknown killer from succeeding in his task. As to be expected with a Zucker production, the plot exists solely as a vehicle for an onslaught of hilarious sight gags, word play and double-entendres. One example of the latter depicts Drebin staring up a woman's skirt as she stands on a ladder to retrieve a box of files. With perfect deadpan delivery he compliments her beaver, after which we see her handing him a stuffed beaver. Slightly juvenile? Perhaps. But the perfect delivery makes it work.

As with nearly any comedy, some jokes work better than others. Luckily the Zucker style of comedy fires off such a quick succession of jokes that for every one that might elicit little more than a slight grin, there are ten others that will prompt an outright belly laugh. The lulls never last long as Drebin proceeds from one outrageous scenario to another. A couple examples are:

• After welcoming a speaker to the podium during a live televised speech, Drebin heads off to the men's room to relieve himself. Unfortunately for him, he forgot to remove the microphone attached to his jacket, so the watching public in the auditorium and at home is subjected to his rather extended relief.
• While attempting to flee a burning building, Drebin finds himself on a sheer ledge many stories above the surface below. During his effort to escape to safety, he accidentally grapples a woman's breasts and later charges at her with a concrete dildo snapped off from a statue on the ledge.
• The visiting Queen is a guest at a baseball game, but one of the players is the killer and it's up to Drebin to discover the killer before he can strike. He dresses as the umpire and gets the game rolling. This scene might be the crown jewel of the movie, for no adjectives can properly describe the hilarity that ensues during the game.

As shown in the examples above, some of the humor is of the potty or sexual variety, but even the most tasteless topics are handled in such a lighthearted and innocent manner that the scenes are quite inoffensive and terribly funny.

Full of intelligent verbal repartee as well as less intelligent (yet equally amusing) sight gags and slapstick, The Naked Gun is a film that offers something for everyone. Just under 90 minutes in length, this comedic assault flies by and leaves you breathless from laughter, yet still begging for more punishment.

Movie rating: 8 stars

If you enjoyed The Naked Gun you may also find the following films to be of interest:

• Airplane!
• Ghostbusters

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