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The Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad!

The Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad!

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Who Knew Police Work Could Be So Funny...
Review: In 1982, Leslie Nielsen starred in a television comedy called "Police Squad" on ABC. Not since "The Carroll Burnett Show" had television seen this kind of quality slapstick comedy. Unfortunately, it never found an audience and only lasted for 6 episodes.

In 1988, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker adapted their short-lived T.V. series into one of the best comedy movies ever. And this time, it proved to be a hit (grossing over $70 million during it's USA run).

Before starring in "Airplane" in 1980, Leslie Nielson had never done a comedy role before (all of his previous roles had been in dramas). Who knew he had such great comedic timing? And it is that timing that makes this movie so much fun to watch.

Mr. Nielson stars as Frank Drebin, an incompetent cop who somehow always manages to solve the crime (even though he sometimes sovles it wrong). Things happen when Drebin is around, such as a fire breaking out, sliding down a long table on top of Queen Elizabeth II, or going to the bathroom with a live microphone. He never means for any of these things to happen, and occasionally doesn't even know when they do.

The cast is wonderfully filled out with George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hocken and Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer. Both of them have great comedic timing on their own, which is enhanced in the presence of Mr. Nielson. Even O.J. Simpson, who is fairly dispised by much of America these days, does a pretty good job of holding his own in this group. His scene that opens the movie is a total laugh riot.

This movie is pure slapstick comedy at its best. Every line, every shot, every move is done for laughs. Even years later, die hard "Naked Gun" fans can still find jokes and shots that they have never caught before.

If you like funny movies, especially slapstick, then this movie is a must see. Actually, it's a must see again, and again, and again, and...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Laughable even throughout the final credits
Review: Detective Frank Drebin ( Leslie Nelson) is hired to protect Queen Elizabeth durning her trip to the States, despite that no one can be safe of him, especailly the poor O.J. character! Drebin also falls for a woman (no, not literaly) and their romance also inspires some slick jokes. Being a fan of the joke-per-minute comedies, this is one of the best, most wild laugh out loud movies I have enjoyed .One of my favorite jokes occurs how the main villian meet his end (which I can't reveal so not to spoil it for those who didn't see the movie. It's too funny. :) ) I liked the perfromances of the actors. Surely David Zucker and others invovled with the movie had some joy while working on it. The Naked Gun offers a lot to get silly about, even throughout the final credits. :) Based on the short-lived series "Police Squad" by the same producers.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I actually preffered the TV Show
Review: Some comedies just do not hold up. Enter The Naked Gun. I have the TV Show on VHS and have watched it for so long and I had seen these NG movies sooo long ago, that I just assumed 'they were good.' I rented this last night and man, this movie just isn't very good. It has good bits like Frank looking through the microscope with his closed eye, but many many gags are long winded and simply not funny (like the urination scene). This comedy works better on TV b/c it is a faster medium. Making unfunny jokes much longer doesn't make them funnier it makes them tedious. Also, the acting is just not any good, I much preffered the TV cast to OJ and company.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Thank the Zucker-brothers for casting Leslie Nielsen
Review: When I first saw "The Naked Gun", I was 14 years old. After the film was over I was stunned. I didn't think that it is possible to make a film that funny. I was constantly laughing during the 80 minutes the movie lasted. The main reason for that (aside from the very funny gags of the screnplay) is the great acting of Leslie Nielsen. His Lt. Drebin doesn't seem to notice that something funny is going on. This understatement fits perfectly. If he overacted the film would be far less funny (a mistake that is often made in the late Mel-Brooks-spoofs). Not only Nielsen seems to know that. George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban and Priscilla Presley also find the right tone. The film spawned two sequels which weren't bad but became less and less funny. "The Naked Gun" is still the funniest film by the trio Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker (perhaps alongside the also very good "Airplane").

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: From the files of when comedy was actually funny
Review: Those who know me know that I don't often go to comedies that have been made since the Austin Powers era. The reason is that there has been a line that has been crossed in recent years that makes that majority of these films unfunny to me. While Austin Powers had Dr. Evil to save it from over all lameness most comedies these days are too reliant on riskaye sex jokes and over the top toilet humor that works in South Park and Nintendo's "Conker's Bad Fur Day" but nothing else. The Naked Gun is based on the short-lived but absolutely hilarious "Police Squad" TV series starring Leslie Neilson as Lt. Frank Drebbon. The show and films classic "who dun its" from the 40s and 50s with over the top classy humor, and a lot of well timed puns and gags. Timing is what makes not only this movie, but also its sequels do funny. The timing for everything is dead on, plus it's a Zucker film, and the Zuckers are almost up there with Mel Brooks. They know how to do comedy right. However the weakness of this film is in its time sensitive gags. A lot of the events in this movie are poking fun of events that were occurring at the time the movies were made. People who were not around in, or do not remember the early nineties may not get a lot of the gags. Even so there is still enough material that is not time sensitive for the film to be funny over all. Even a guest appearance by Weird Al Yankovic.
The special features are lacking, however. Part of what makes DVDs so fun is when you get a jam-packed DVD that goes in depth into the making of the movie. It is when you have those kinds of documentaries that the movie becomes more than a movie; it becomes a living piece of history. Considering that so many of the jokes are so era sensitive these making of featurettes that this DVD lacked could have been beneficial to those who don't know that backdrops to which so many of these jokes are built.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Jumping from rock to rock
Review: I laughed until I dropped my secrets on the floor. Then I laughed again and had to jump to higher ground, because secrets grow high, like wild weeds.

Fortunato Plethora bids you a farewell. A fond farewell, but I'll be watching. Believe me, I will, because I'm Fortunato Plethora.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Crude, raunchy and disgusting....and I loved it!
Review: This movie and the sequels of "The Naked Gun" turned out to be surprise hits in the theaters. Yeah, it's silly, but it's a silly film that's also very funny. Leslie Neilsen is absolutely hysterical as the bumbling Det. Frank Drebbin, and the supporting cast is perfect: George Kennedy, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Nancy Marchand and Ricardo Montalban can all be counted on big laughs. In this story, Frank is trying to locate the criminal responsible for the attempted murder of his partner Nordberg (Simpson) and in the process, stumbles across an outrageous plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, who just happens to be visiting Los Angeles. Drebbin finds out the person who was behind Nordberg's attempted murder (Montalban as Vincent Ludwig, a shipping magnate), is also responsible for plotting the murder of the Queen and it's up to him to save the day, with hilarious results. Along the way he falls hard for Jane (Presley, who is very good in a comedic role), and she helps him in trying to stop the assassination. There are many moments in this film that will have you in stitches. The one scene that actually hurts my ribs from laughter is when Frank is stuck out on a ledge after starting a fire in Ludwig's office. A close second is the scene at the California Angels' baseball game. It's heavy on slapstick and toilet humor, but this movie will have you crying from laughing so hard! Highly recommended. Also look for the all-star cameos in this movie, there are a lot of them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Frank Drebin from Police Squad hits the Big Screen
Review: Yes, "The Naked Gun" is a funny movie, a fitting heir to "Airplane" in the genre of "Kitchen Sink" comedy where you had better pay attention to everything that is going on in the background and read all of the final credits or you will be missing out on the fun. But Leslie Nielsen's totally dead-panned performance as Lt. Frank Drebin in the original "Police Squad" TV series worked better than than the more hammy approach used in the films. Still, watching Priscilla Presley, Nancy Marchand and Ricardo Montalban deal straight up with all the wackiness redeems many things. Even if you never saw "Police Squad" (with Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln), you will laugh parts of your anatomy off during "The Naked Gun." I wonder if Queen Elizabeth ever watched this movie? Too bad it is hard not to wince every time you see that guy playing Nordberg. Final Trivia Note: the German version of "The Naked Gun" runs four minutes shorter. See if you can guess what the fun loving Germans found so offensive they cut (No, I do not have any idea, but I am curious).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: When asked what my favorite movie of all time, I always instinctively utter "The Naked Gun." While not everyone really appreciates this movie, unless you're into goffball comedies, this has to be one of the funniest movies ever. Not sure what else can be said about it. Puns, punchlines, side gags, are all brilliant. I laugh out loud every time I watch it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Second Funniest Film Ever Made!!!!
Review: Eight years after their groundbreaking classic AIRPLANE! (1980), the ZAZ boys return to form with THE NAKED GUN - FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD! In the interim period, they of course had directed a couple of films (most notably TOP SECRET! in 1984, which was only sporadically funny and a relative disappointment) and worked on some others, but they had never managed to come even remotely close to the all-out hilarity of their original blockbuster mega-comedy. In my sort-of-humble opinion, with THE NAKED GUN, they nearly match the incredible AIRPLANE! pound-for-pound (or gag-for-gag). Based on the gloriously failed 1982 TV show "Police Squad!" which they also produced, wrote and directed, THE NAKED GUN pulls out all the stops from the very beginning, and it doesn't let up till the end---and by that I mean the VERY end, as in the end of the end credits!

Starring Leslie Nielsen as the perpetually stone-faced, bemused detective Lt. Frank Drebin (which, on top of his similar character of Dr. Rumack in AIRPLANE!, has bought the previously dramatic-oriented Nielsen a second career as a top comedic actor) and co-starring George Kennedy as his partner, Captain Ed Hocken, Priscilla Presley in an equally-surprising comedic role as Drebin's love interest Jane Spencer, the now-ironic O.J. Simpson as the repeatedly-injured Det. Nordberg (gotta love that name on him), Ricardo Montalban as the villainous multi-millionaire Vincent Ludwig, Nancy Marchand as Mayor Barkley, Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson as himself, and Jeannette Charles as Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, this movie throws everything at you plus the kitchen sink. Just as with AIPLANE!, it is impossible to get all the gags on the first viewing alone. I have seen it at least five times now, and it still gives me something new to laugh at every time. I guess that you could say that THE NAKED GUN is the gift that keeps on giving!

The humor is infectious from the beginning: After the opening sequence in which Frank breaks up a meeting of anti-American Arab nations (slapping around Yassir Arafat for good measure), he returns home to a crowd that is cheering loudly---for "Weird Al" Yankovic, who's in the next airplane. Soon, Frank gets word of a planned attempt on the life of Queen Elizabeth II---at the World Series, which she happens to joyfully attend. After many failed attempts at breaking up this plot, Frank finally makes it to the World Series where he saves the day by impersonating an Italian opera tenor brought in to sing the National Anthem. For those who may think I spoiled any surprise, guess what: the surprise isn't what happens at the major plot intersections; nope, it's what happens at every moment in between them.

THE NAKED GUN (what a title!) has humor that's even raunchier than that of AIRPLANE!, so I suggest you wait till your kids are at least 10 or 11 before showing it to them. But when you do, prepare to wear earmuffs to protect your ears from the screams of laughter that will ensue during the film! Let's face it, this movie is a must-own for any serious fan of comedy. Enough said, now just buy it and see it, whether it be for the first time or the fiftieth!

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