Review by C.J. Bunce
We talk a lot at borg about the Summer of 1982 for its movies, but along with a major wave of fantastic movies, 1982 saw a season of a TV series called Police Squad!–Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s follow-up to the 1980 mega-hit Airplane! Eight years later, star Leslie Nielsen brought back the TV show’s earnest but daft Lt. Frank Drebin (along with Priscilla Presley) in a trilogy of The Naked Gun movies. This summer The Naked Gun–the reboot–arrived in theaters and has now landed on Paramount+. Starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin, Jr., son of Leslie Nielsen’s character, this movie in a familiar world full of comedy gags isn’t as funny as the originals. But you have more than a few good reasons not to pass it up.
First off, Liam Neeson is reliable. He selects good projects and knows how to deliver. This has become especially true when he takes a comedic turn, as he did in Men in Black: International, Ted 2, and Derry Girls. Just how far is Neeson willing to go for a laugh? You may just find the bounds of his humor right here. Although the funniest bits can be found in the movie’s trailers, you may agree that simply watching Neeson give his all and immerse himself in this crazy performance is worthy of your time. Is it as funny as the 1987 movie parody reboot Dragnet starring Dan Aykroyd as the next-generation relative of the original TV series lead, Joe Friday? No. But hold on–there’s more to watch for here.
Pamela Anderson (Baywatch) is a great pairing as a romantic interest for Neeson. A romance montage that goes (appropriately) way off the rails shows that these actors are just fine at not taking themselves too seriously. Another one mimics Nielsen and Presley’s risque “safe sex” scene from the original movie using a silhouette gag.
Playing Drebin, Jr.’s partner is Paul Walter Hauser (BlacKkKlansman) as the son of George Kennedy’s Captain Ed Hocken. Hauser is sort of an odd ringer for Hailey Joel Osment. He makes a good comedy partner for Neeson, although the writers saved most of the laughs for Neeson. One of the goofier gags has Detective Drebin reviewing body cam footage, which is primarily footage of Neeson eating while in his car.
The biggest win is Danny Huston (X-Men: Origins–Wolverine, Marlowe) as Richard Cane, the latest bad guy billionaire Elon Musk clone. If you never knew Danny Huston was the son of director (and Chinatown co-star) John Huston, you will after watching him in this role. His volume and look as he’s aged are now a great match to his dad’s trademark booming voice and presence. Kevin Durand (Wu Assassins, Swamp Thing) is another good casting decision as Cane’s henchman, but he doesn’t get utilized enough.
The Naked Gun is not written or directed by the original trio of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, but from Akiva Schaffer, who delivered one major hit for us with The LEGO Movie. Seth MacFarlane is listed as a producer, and the movie is in step with his brand of humor. At times viewers may be left wishing that the writing team had tried harder. Recurring coffee cup and smashing phone gags may not land as intended. The trademark Police Squad! view of the dashboard with the siren as the car parades through unlikely places is there, but relegated to the end of the movie. That would have better set the movie’s tone if included upfront. One of the best bits has Neeson showing all the pitfalls of self-driving vehicles. I just wish this would have been tied to the siren-dashboard view sequence.
Abrahams, Zucker, and Zucker discussed the work involved in creating the nonstop barrage of jokes for Airplane! in their book Surely, You Can’t Be Serious (reviewed here). Nobody said comedy was easy. But I think a laugh per sentence is probably a minimum requirement in this kind of genre, which the TV series Angie Tribeca was able to replicate better. Yes, The Naked Gun reboot may just have too much space between laughs. But the framework is there, and the mystery and MacGuffin all work to provide a roadmap for Neeson’s antics. A similar MacGuffin was used in the second Kingsman movie.
Keep your eyes open for cameos by Busta Rhymes, the late Priscilla Presley and Weird Al Yankovic, and Warehouse 13’s CCH Pounder as the chief of police.
The whole package is a comedy that is just good enough, with some gags and yuks fans of the original will appreciate, even if this isn’t a comedy in the league of the original. Look for The Naked Gun streaming now on Paramount+.
