Paramount brings you another classic movie in their “I Love the 80’s” on DVD series.
“It’s the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy. Boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl. Girl dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.”
“Goodyear?”
“No, the worst.”
The Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team of writers and directors who brought you the Airplane! movies takes the original TV series Police Squad! and brings it to the big screen in The Naked Gun. Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielson) returns from vacation to find his co-worker and best friend Detective Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) gunned down in a drug bust gone wrong.
In an attempt to find Nordberg’s would be assassin and clear his name in the drug bust, Frank and his partner Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) stumble upon a well-respected business man Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) and his lovely assistant Jane Spencer (Pricilla Presley). Trying not to let his feelings for Jane interfere with the job, Frank uncovers a ludicrous plot that involves brainwashing a baseball player to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II while she’s in L.A. on her American tour.
Nice beaver!
Special Features
– Bonus Limited Edition CD featuring music from Echo & The Bunnymen, INXS, Erasure, and a-ha.
– Group Commentary (David Zucker, Robert Weiss, and Peter Tilden).
– Original Theatrical Trailer.
Highlights
– A hilarious car chase conducted by a student driver.
– Several celebrity cameos including Weird Al Yankovic and Reggie Jackson.
– The chance to see O.J. Simpson on screen way back before he was a double murderer (allegedly).
Always practice safe sex.
Overall
Frank Drebin is bumbling, he’s not too smart, and he’s a danger to himself and everyone around him. He should be nowhere near a badge, not to mention a gun. So why do we love him so? Because he’s honest, he’s lovable, and he always gets his man. There is something completely satisfying about watching a series of asinine situations all come together at the end. The jokes and gags are a plenty, so numerous in fact, be prepared to keep you finger on the rewind button.
O.J. Simpson slinking around in the dark. Art imitating life?
Part of the fun with a spoof movie like this is trying to stay one step ahead of the joke. For instance when Frank is searching a desk in Ludwig’s office, he opens a drawer and says, “Bingo!”. Obviously he is going to pull out a Bingo card from the drawer and look at it. Deep humor? No. Silly gag that’s earnest and doesn’t take itself too seriously? Yes and yes. I grew up watching this movie, and while I may have been to young at the time to catch all of the jokes (especially all the sexual innuendo), watching it today still feels fresh. The Naked Gun definitely passes the test of time.
Worth watching for this one reason: Maybe it’s just me, but there is something terrifically satisfying about seeing O.J. Simpson gunned down by a gang of thugs.
ComicsOnline gives The Naked Gun 4.5 out of 5 Japanese fighting fish.
After you’re done freezing for the credits, come back to ComicsOnline.com for more classic DVD reviews and everything geek pop culture.
