The Naked GunNever underestimate the dedication of a good cop to see justice done...or if a good cop isn't available, bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) of the special branch of the LAPD called "Police Squad" will have to do. The Naked Gun is a spoof of hard boiled action films like Dirty Harry and other procedural cop movies. Frank is investigating the near-fatal attack on his former partner, Detective Nordberg (O. J. Simpson), and ends up embroiled in a conspiracy headed by a sinister urban development mogul named Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalbán), who is planning to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (Jeannette Charles) on her visit to the City of Angels. In between bouts of vexing Ludwig (intentionally or otherwise), Frank enjoys the fruits of his blossoming relationship with the lovely Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), who is the personal assistant to Ludwig.
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If the aforementioned synopsis sounds a lot like any old, cliche-ridden action flick, that's by design. As a spoof, The Naked Gun thrives by poking fun at familiar tropes of the genre, and then upending them for hilarious results. Frank narrates portions of The Naked Gun, recalling classic detective stories, even when his inner monologue meanders into places unknown. He resembles the quintessential police detective, with his badge, gun, and serious tone of voice; but that's where the comparisons stop. Frank is woefully inobservant, leading to moments of constant hilarity--be it an accidental microphone he brings with him into the men's room, a series of clumsy encounters with Ludwig's priceless antiquities, or his total ineptitude at parking his car without causing a catastrophe. Other characters also embody genre archetypes that are subverted for comedy. For example, Mayor Barkley (Nancy Marchand) is always on Frank's case following a tragic incident where he shot a bunch of actors in a "Shakespeare in the Park" rendition of "Julius Caesar", believing they were "just some weirdos in togas stabbing someone". Jane's sensuality and velvety voice is a nod to Marilyn Monroe. She has her own hurdles to overcome, however; she is totally oblivious about her employer's dirty dealings, and has difficulty negotiating staircases. Vincent Ludwig is a serpentine sleaze who all but advertises that he is the bad guy--not including the opening scene where he shoots Nordberg. When Frank lets it slip that Nordberg survived Ludwig's assassination attempt, he is visibly nervous--it's a good thing for Ludwig that Frank Drebin's on the case and doesn't notice this. Even Ludwig's accent is meant to play to a cliche in cop movies where villains are often foreigners, like in Die Hard. Despite being a buffoon, Frank is an endearing protagonist who--in his own way--upholds American values, like the opening scene where Frank goes toe-to-toe with some of the world's most notorious boogeymen in a ridiculous royal rumble.
The Naked Gun pulls out all the stops with its variety of yuks, a multitude of comedic beats akin to the "Swiss Army Shoe" by a Police Squad lab tech named Al (Tiny Ron). There are copious sight gags, like the cutaway to a voluptuous-looking refinery after Frank comments about how everything he sees reminds him of his estranged wife. There is also plenty of slapstick; consider the scene where Nordberg (whose first name is never spoken, not even by his wife) has been shot by Ludwig's goons, and he stumbles around the boat, bonking his head on a pipe, getting his fingers slammed in a window, and even getting wet paint on his jacket, before finally falling in the ocean. (The icing on this comedy cake is when a chalk outline is placed on the water's surface in white tape the next morning.) There's even the scene where Frank and Jane are enjoying their first day as a couple, frolicking on the beach while clotheslining another couple, getting matching tattoos, and spraying each other with condiments, all to the tune of Herman's Hermits' "I'm Into Something Good". The punchline to this musical montage is when the song is credited à la VH1's music video at the conclusion. The Naked Gun plays off of irony at other times by virtue of Leslie Nielsen's magnificent capacity for delivering absurd responses that he clearly misunderstood with deadpan sincerity, like when Ludwig offers him a "Cuban" (cigar), and he proclaims that he's "Dutch-Irish, and his father was from Wales". Sometimes Frank catches himself after having caused some chaos, like when the airbags deploy in his vehicle--which doesn't deter him from getting out--and he accidentally puts the car into drive while exiting, sending it careening down the street. In his confusion, Frank shoots at his own car, subsequently asking if anyone got the license number before realizing what he's done. Embarrassed, he tasks a nearby cop to "question the witnesses" so he can sneak away. The humor in The Naked Gun comes fast and frequently, with the clear intent of keeping the audience in a constant state of laughter. This is similar to other films by the creative team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, including Airplane!; like those movies, the jokes in The Naked Gun become so memorable, that fans of the film can find themselves quoting lines from it and getting instant recognition from fellow enthusiasts, adding value to the film even after its climactic finale, complete with steamroller and marching band.
Recommended for: Fans of a hilarious comedy that parodies cop movies with a variety of rapid-fire jokes, quips, gags, puns, and more. For those keeping track, the official title is The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, as it was adapted from a short-lived television series (called "Police Squad!"), although no prior knowledge of the show is necessary to laugh yourself into stitches.
The Naked Gun pulls out all the stops with its variety of yuks, a multitude of comedic beats akin to the "Swiss Army Shoe" by a Police Squad lab tech named Al (Tiny Ron). There are copious sight gags, like the cutaway to a voluptuous-looking refinery after Frank comments about how everything he sees reminds him of his estranged wife. There is also plenty of slapstick; consider the scene where Nordberg (whose first name is never spoken, not even by his wife) has been shot by Ludwig's goons, and he stumbles around the boat, bonking his head on a pipe, getting his fingers slammed in a window, and even getting wet paint on his jacket, before finally falling in the ocean. (The icing on this comedy cake is when a chalk outline is placed on the water's surface in white tape the next morning.) There's even the scene where Frank and Jane are enjoying their first day as a couple, frolicking on the beach while clotheslining another couple, getting matching tattoos, and spraying each other with condiments, all to the tune of Herman's Hermits' "I'm Into Something Good". The punchline to this musical montage is when the song is credited à la VH1's music video at the conclusion. The Naked Gun plays off of irony at other times by virtue of Leslie Nielsen's magnificent capacity for delivering absurd responses that he clearly misunderstood with deadpan sincerity, like when Ludwig offers him a "Cuban" (cigar), and he proclaims that he's "Dutch-Irish, and his father was from Wales". Sometimes Frank catches himself after having caused some chaos, like when the airbags deploy in his vehicle--which doesn't deter him from getting out--and he accidentally puts the car into drive while exiting, sending it careening down the street. In his confusion, Frank shoots at his own car, subsequently asking if anyone got the license number before realizing what he's done. Embarrassed, he tasks a nearby cop to "question the witnesses" so he can sneak away. The humor in The Naked Gun comes fast and frequently, with the clear intent of keeping the audience in a constant state of laughter. This is similar to other films by the creative team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, including Airplane!; like those movies, the jokes in The Naked Gun become so memorable, that fans of the film can find themselves quoting lines from it and getting instant recognition from fellow enthusiasts, adding value to the film even after its climactic finale, complete with steamroller and marching band.
Recommended for: Fans of a hilarious comedy that parodies cop movies with a variety of rapid-fire jokes, quips, gags, puns, and more. For those keeping track, the official title is The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, as it was adapted from a short-lived television series (called "Police Squad!"), although no prior knowledge of the show is necessary to laugh yourself into stitches.