Without giving away my age, I'll say that in 1988, I was far too young to see the original David Zucker comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! in theaters. I have certainly had a cultural awareness of the movie—better known simply as Naked Gun—and its hijinx, but I'd never seen the film for myself.
I remedied that a few weeks ago when I knew I'd be seeing the latest in the franchise, this time titled The Naked Gun, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the screwball comedy starring Leslie Nielson as Lt. Frank Drebin, a pun-happy detective in Los Angeles's Police Squad, holds up relatively well. Made in an era where we as a society laughed at things we very much don't laugh about now, Zucker's film (based on the television series and co-written with Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Pat Proft) finds its humor in the silly and stupid, the visual gags and the physical comedy that doesn't run any risk of offending anyone.
I'm thrilled to report that this latest iteration (not exactly a reboot, perhaps a revisiting?) directed by Akiva Schaffer (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and written by Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand is so delightfully square in the original's lane that it's as if we'd never left the Police Squad. Liam Neeson is Detective Frank Drebin, the son of Nielson's Drebin and working his dad's beat in the squad (one of the film's best throwback gags around this new generation of officers is spoiled in the trailer below, be warned).
After too many botched cases, Drebin is reassigned by Squad Chief Davis (CCH Pounder) to the vehicle accident team, a demotion from his work on bank robberies and homicides. But the detective's first case, an electric car that went careening off a cliffside road, killing its driver in the process, turns into much more than a simple accident. As Drebin begins investigating how and why Simon Davenport lost control of the car, his sister pays Drebin a visit to ensure the police conduct a thorough investigation. Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) is a bombshell of a woman, determined to get to the truth of what happened to her brother.
Nothing about the plot of The Naked Gun is terribly surprising or complicated, but that's not a criticism. The film's drama begins with a bank safety deposit box getting blown up, the robbers hoisting something called a P.L.O.T. Device from inside. From the jump, it's clear that Schaffer and crew are not just good students of the Zucker brand of comedy, but almost reverent of these types of goofball shenanigans, leaning deeply and delightfully into the silliness of it all.
For an actor who's seemingly never without a new film in theaters, this is Neeson's biggest ticket role in a minute, and he's more than capable of the challenge, proving his comedy chops are as legitimate as his action ones. Combined with an undeniable chemistry with Anderson, both romantically and comedically, the two light up the screen, particularly in a hilarious montage that sees the two fall in love...and fight a demon snowman?! Yeah, it's dumb. And it's great. Plus, there hasn't been such a great use of Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" since Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader lip synced to it in Skeleton Twins.
At barely an hour and a half, The Naked Gun doesn't wear out its welcome; instead, the filmmakers are wise to pack in as much absurd comedy as they can into a tight package, one that doesn't chase pointless plot threads just for the sake of keeping audiences in cinemas longer. In an era where not much is succeeding at the box office (superheroes and horror, mainly), it's encouraging to see a smart yet silly, fun yet feather-light adult comedy triumph in this way, hopefully proving that moviegoing audiences are open to a good time done right.
The Naked Gun is now in theaters.
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