Alright, the joke’s over. If only this film were as funny as the trailer.


While there are a couple of laughs interspersed here and there (which means it's a thousand times funnier than anything Ben Stiller has ever done) this is a distant relative of the original The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! It is expected that the jokes are forced, that’s part of the humor, but in this case the jokes are crammed in. Instead of the humor stemming from the situations they feel pasted on in this film. Half of the time it would have been less obvious just to have a big “THERE’S A GAG” sign should flash on the screen. This is very broad humor, it’s not about subtlety but the Zuckers/Abrahams team is far too pushy with their jokes this time around – and the jokes just aren’t that good. The entire final act where Frank Drebin breaks into the Oscars to thwart a terrorist attack is poorly conceived and fails from the start. Even in a bad comedy, are we really supposed to believe Pia Zadora is performing at the Oscars? Really?

Even if you loved the first two films, this outing will still disappoint.


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Labels: David Zucker, film, leslie nielsen, movie review, Police Squad, Zucker Brothers

If you love physical humor you’re not going to find anything funnier than the first five minutes of this film – at least from anything made in the last twenty years. Even after all of these years, it still slays me.

After peaking with their brand of humor The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, the Zucker Brothers and Jim Abrahams released this sequel. It's a faded copy of the original. The jokes are a little more forced (amazing that it is even possible) and there is a serious, SERIOUS political agenda being played out. Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is nearing retirement from Police Squad. His relationship with Jane (Priscilla Presley) has fallen apart and she has moved on. Jane is now paired with the corrupt Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet). Goulet is perfectly cast as the mustache twisting villain/straight man. He deserves a good amount of attention. As a straight man, his reactions are priceless in contrast to Nielsen’s hammy performance. Hapsburg’s big sin is fronting a conspiracy which will lead to environmental destruction. This film was one of the early attempts at the openly political films we’ve come to know today. The political agenda is slathered on pretty thick and the audience is forced to look beyond it to get to the good stuff. If you can stomach the all business men and Republicans are Satan nonsense sprinkled liberally (literally) you will find some very smart jokes. The bomb site in the first act – hilarious.

Note that beyond just an obtuse political agenda, this is just like the rest of the Zucker/Abrahams comedies. It often will be crude. It is not for kids. If you are sensitive to low humor you will want to avoid this film.


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Labels: comedy, David Zucker, film, leslie nielsen, movie review, Police Squad, Zucker Brothers

We all have our guilty pleasures, this is one of mine. I admit it, I love this film. I can quote it all day long.












I consider this to be one of the best comedies ever made. The scene between Ricardo Montalban and Leslie Nielsen meeting each other in the office is worth the price of admission alone.

The Zucker Brothers (David and Jerry) along with Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft adapted this film from their failed television show Police Squad. Those of us who remember the original airing of the show remember its penchant for ridiculous sight gags and twisted dialog. This film revels in both. If you are a fan of dumb humor such as puns, sight gags and other farcical jokes, this is your Citizen Kane. The humor is not for everyone. Generally when I hear this film mentioned the reactions are pretty stark. Either people love it or they really, really hate it.

Leslie Nielsen portrays Detective Frank Drebin of Police Squad. Drebin is a bumbling Cousteau-esque goof who’s just a little more belligerent. Nielsen revived his career with this performance and kept him gainfully employed for the next fifteen years making some serious terrible movies. In his film he is perfect. His delivery is praise worthy and in my opinion stands as one of the best comedic performances in the last fifty years. I’m sure there are people who will disagree, but I have a lot of respect for his performance in this movie. It is not easy to deliver the lines he has with a straight face and still be as funny as he is in his role.

As good as Nielsen is, the real star of the movie is the script. It is very well structured. It is obvious they went through the story first and laced in the jokes once they knew what they were doing. This is often the best way to write comedy. Get the mechanics down, then worry about the gags. Without a properly structured story all you have is a string of jokes and usually this isn’t enough to keep a production going.

The best way to gauge if you will like this movie is if you think the Zuckers/Abrahams/Proft movie Airplane! is funny. Me? I love it. Where else can you see something as wonderfully written as this...


Brilliant. If you don't think this is funny I don't know what to say to you.



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Labels: David Zucker, film, leslie nielsen, movie review, Zucker Brothers

This is more brilliant than it appears (even while watching it). Goofiness abounds in this parody of 70’s airplane disaster films. This deceptively simple movie is one of the most influential comedies of all time as well as one of the most quotable.

Labels: comedy, film, leslie nielsen, movie trailer, Zucker Brothers

I don't get a good vibe off this one. I like the premise enough and mocking the flagrant stupidity of leftists is rich ground. I watch this and the presence of Bill O'Reilly and Trace Adkins - are you kidding me? I can only hope the image of Adkins on stage is only a brief, VERY BRIEF, moment in the film and they don't have the poor judgment to force that horrible music on the audience. If done right, this simply shows the leftist's arguments against America for what they are - childish hysterics from a bunch of spoiled malconents. If done wrong, this will be a series of propped up gags that are just as blunt as the leftist arguments they're attempting to mock. It sure seems like its the latter of the two.

The Naked Gun series worked (at least the first two films) because they had firm and traditional story strucutures and the jokes were laced into the story afterward. Frank Drebin's quest to find the men who shot Nordberg was actually a good piece of structure. This outing looks more like the Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer school of comedy (Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Scary Movie, etc.) where humor is replaced by disposiable gags. No strucuture and not funny.






Screenwriter: David Zucker (Top Secret!), Lewis Friedkin (BASEketball) and Myrna Sokoloff
Director: David Zucker (Ruthless People)
Actors: Kevin P. Farley, Kelsey Grammar (Swing Vote), Jon Voight (National Treasure), Robert Davi (The Hot Chick), Trace Adkins, James Woods (Be Cool), Dennis Hopper (Swing Vote), Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear) and Kevin Sorbo (Meet the Spartans)

Labels: Dennis Hopper, James Woods, Jon Voight, Kelsey Grammar, politics, Zucker Brothers

This movie runs at one hundred jokes per minute. This film may have more sight gags than any other film ever made. Val Kilmer heads up this film by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers (Airplane!) If you like the humor of The Naked Gun, you will love this piece. Note, this is loaded with lowbrow humor - sex jokes abound. If you're sensitive about offensive jokes, this is not a movie for you.


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Labels: comedy, movie review, Val Kilmer, Zucker Brothers