THE NAKED GUN – Review

So, is it too late to “jump start” a beloved comedy franchise if that last entry was released before many moviegoers were born, way back in 1994? Well, Paramount’s more than willing to “roll the dice”, since the original feature flick was a big gamble on bringing a TV show to the big screen. But since several successful films have had their start on the small screen (there have been 13 Star Treks and eight Impossible Missions), is it really a risk? Indeed, it was because that source material, a TV comedy classic, only ran for six (?!) episodes. Here’s a bit of personal trivia: “Police Squad” was the first series that I recorded off the air with a VCR (look it up, kids). Yes, it was broadcast over six glorious weeks on ABC in the Spring of 1982. But some serious movie muscle (AIRPLANE), often referred to as ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker), were behind it, so a feature film was released in 1988 and was a huge hit, spurring follow-ups in 1991 and 1994. And now it’s back, making a fourth film inspired by a failed TV show. So, is the comedy ammo still potent, and is the aim for laughs still right on target in THE NAKED GUN? Somewhere Leslie Nielsen is looking down and laughing as he works his portable “fart-noise machine”.

The film’s opening sequence is the main source of the popular trailer that’s been around since the Super Bowl. A bunch of heavily-armed thugs are interrupted during their bank robbery by the intrepid Lt. Det. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson). But while all the gunplay occurs in the lobby, a trio led by Sig Gustafson (Kevin Durand) is grabbing a gizmo from a safe deposit box, and escapes from the building. Back at the police station, Drebin is chewed out for his ultra-violent methods by his exasperated superior, Chief Davis (CCH Pounder). In order to remove him from the heist investigation, she sends him out with Cpt. Ed Hocken Jr (Paul Walter Houser) to look into a bizarre highway accident fatality. It appears to be a “cut and dry” case of impaired driving until Drebin gets a visit at the station from the victim’s grieving sister, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson). She thinks it was no accident, but rather a murder that may be linked to her brother’s business partner, tech guru Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Drebin’s interested in her theories and in the gorgeous lady herself (he’s a lonely widower). Soon, Frank’s up to his neck in an evil scheme that involves that bank job and an effort to frame him. Can he honor his papa’s legacy by taking down the “perps’ while racking up thousands of dollars in property damage (and really, really bending the law)? Carnage, chaos, and comedy are all part of this big case.

Neeson’s performance here is a big dive into the world of comedy, a “hello” if you will, while also being a huge “goodbye” to the “I’m gonna’ kill all of ‘youse” roles that he looked to be trapped inside, though paid well, I’m sure, since 2008’s TAKEN. And he appears to be having a grand ole’ time. But there’s a big difference from the original beloved star Leslie Nielsen (though they do share the same initials). He had left the hunky leading man roles long before he boarded that AIRPLANE, often popping up as the “well-heeled” suspect in Quinn Martin-styled crime shows. However, Neeson is still a solid movie star, though they both seem to relish “tweaking” the cliches. Though Liam’s not the same silver-maned buffoon, he still barks out the quips with the proper seriousness. Much of that can apply to his leading lady. After bowling the naysayers over with her “deserving of an Oscar nomination” work as THE LAST SHOWGIRL. Ms. Anderson uses her high heels to puncture the femme fatale “bombshell” image built up over 30 years. And kudos for her character name, a nod to the adored legal counsel of a beloved P.I. on the TV classic “The Rockford Files” (brought a smile to my face). Just last week, he was scoring laughs as reformed super-villain the Moleman and now the always watchable Mr. Hauser is still siphoning giggles from the leads as Drebin’s loyal but equally bewildered partner Ed Jr. As for the wrongdoers, Huston is a compelling, smirking rich jerk as the wesally Cane, riffing on current tech despots while recalling his papa’s wealthy wastrals in classics like CHINATOWN. He’s also well served by Durand, spoofing his frequent work as the ruthless hired “muscle”. Plus Pounder is an excellent “straight-woman” as the “more irritated than happy” police chief trying to “clean up’ after Frank and his squad crew.

So, no member of the original ZAZ team, nor their own “juniors,” were behind the camera on this “restart”. Instead, the directing reins were handed off to a member of another acclaimed comedy troupe, the Lonely Island. Coming off the surprisingly clever streaming hit feature reboot of CHIP ‘N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS, Akiva Schaffer certainly has a good comedic eye for the slapstick sequences that mock the “over the top” pyrotechnic pandemonium of so many noisy Summer action blockbusters, particularly in that opening bank heist. And he paces the flick accordingly, coming in just a tad under 90 minutes like much of that original trilogy. But somehow it feels a bit too drawn out, perhaps due to a couple of sidetracks (the plot halts for a weird horror parody), some gratuitous bodily function bits, and a rather aimless final showdown (but then the originals had that problem). It seems that about 65% of the gags really land, with a handful of clever “howlers”, though with any comedy, “your mileage may vary”. Still, that’s a nice “score” over what passes for funny flicks today. Plus Schaffer’s team gets the look and sound “right” as a spoof of police thrillers of the last 40 or so years, while the Nielson trilogy (and his TV show) took on 1960s crime flick and stoic TV shows (I was stunned to recently discover Lee Marvin in “M Squad” a beat-for-beat blueprint for ZAZ). Sure the coffee cup and driving gags wear thin (perhasp they need a couple more to be funny again in the old comedy rule), and you may feel a tad exhausted by the final fade out since Schaffers and his co-writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand pack in enough bits to fill out another six episode sitcom, but they’re to be commended for the effort to honor a beloved IP. And the enthusiastic cast certainly strives to polish THE NAKED GUN until it sparkles like Nielsen’s cropped-cop coif.

2.5 Out of 4

THE NAKED GUN is now playing in theatres everywhere