At times like this when our country feels so politically divided and financially stressed out, there’s always something that can happily bring people together and lessen the sting of political discord. That’s comedy. Can you sense my sarcasm? But seriously, I’m not trying to layer on this sarcasm very thickly, because I also partly believe in the unifying power of comedy.
I saw this unifying power myself when I recently watched "The Naked Gun" in the movie theater. This power didn’t show itself like an enormous thunder clap but was more like a pleasant drizzle of rain.
For those of you who don’t know, "The Naked Gun" was originally a hilarious 1988 film that parodies the police crime genre starring Leslie Nielsen as Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his girlfriend Jane Spencer played by Priscilla Presley. The full title is "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad," and it generated two sequels released in 1991 and 1994 (which also have goofy titles of their own).
These farcical spoofs are packed with so many jokes of so many kinds, I remember watching them as a kid and not even grasping the meaning of every silly moment. (I had some growing up to do to get all the jokes.)
The new reboot of "The Naked Gun" stars Liam Neeson ("Memory," 2022) as Lieutenant Frank Drebin’s son Frank Jr. solving crimes in the Los Angeles Police Department. After reviewing the remains of a car crash, Frank Jr. learns of a technology billionaire’s evil plan to destroy the world. Liam Neeson is an unexpected casting choice for this leading role since he’s carved a comfortable space for himself as a hardened anti-hero action star for the past 17 years in films like "Taken" (2008) and "Unknown" (2011).
Liam Neeson thankfully knows what kind of film "The Naked Gun" is supposed to be, and he gives a committed performance of sternness and incompetence. I thought his testosterone-heavy image might limit the variety of his comic acting. I was nervous he would give the same facial expressions and same line deliveries every 10 minutes, but he honestly lets it all out.
His face runs the gamut of crazy emotion with desire, shock, smugness, and triumph making his expressions a wide array of shapes. Liam Neeson's costar Pamela Anderson ("The Last Showgirl," 2024) also lets it all out with some comic flashes herself, although I think her face could have been more animated or elastic.
Like the original "Naked Gun" films, the real star of this PG-13 reboot is the jokes. And like the original films, the jokes in this reboot are heartily diverse. The gags go from verbal, to visual, to physical, and they’re the main reason this film manages to stay entertaining. The style of humor is diverse too. The gags are juvenile, then erotically obscene, then topical connected to pop culture, then coarsely dark (Bill Cosby is not off limits).
The director & co-screenwriter is Akiva Schaffer ("Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," 2022) who has worked for many years as a writer and director for Saturday Night Live (SNL). That kind of zany, fast-paced work has easily lent itself to this film, since some of the scenes in "The Naked Gun" remind me of SNL sketches. Many of the scenes remind me of other popular spoofs like "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "Airplane!" (1980), and "Hot Shots!" (1991).
I know sometimes I seem like a condescending critic telling people most of the films I review are stupid, and I'm looking down my nose at lots of new releases (especially comedies). But I honestly didn't hate this one. I didn't laugh out loud at every single gag, but I at least laughed out loud a few times.
With so many zingers lined up from beginning to end, there’s plenty I found predictable. But there’s plenty I was surprised by too. One of my favorite lines in the film is: “She had a bottom that would make any toilet beg for the brown.”
This isn’t a great film to me, but ones like this have enough of a mixture that everyone can have a good time with a laugh.
