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What began as a failed ABC Thursday night spoof television series which ran for just four episodes (out of 6 filmed) emerged many years later as the wildly popular Naked Gun film series. Spoof and farce masters David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, along with writer Pat Proft, embraced the serial detective TV shows from many years before, including Dragnet, mixed in some film-noir narration, and played straight a brilliant mix of visual gags and verbal puns. The Naked Gun remains a genuinely funny film and the 1950’s detective vibe in the late 1980’s Los Angeles setting offer a strangely timeless laugh-a-minute experience. The late Leslie Nielsen delivers his most spot-on, straight-faced spoof performance and, with a appropriately throwaway story upon which to lay the many absurd moments, provides for one heck of a fun film. Please note that this film is released on Blu-ray as an exclusive to Best Buy.
The Naked Gun
From the Files of Police Squad
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Year: 1988
US Rating: Rated PG-13
Film Length: 84 Minutes
Video: AVC MPEG-4 1080P High Definition 16X9
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish Stereo Dolby Digital, Portuguese Mono Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese
Release Date: September 25, 2011
Review Date: September 25, 2011
“Jane, since I've met you, I've noticed things that I never knew were there before... birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf…stoplights.”
The Film
4/ 5
Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is a veteran member of the Police Squad, a special division of the Los Angeles police department, and has been tasked with heading up the protection of the Queen of England during her upcoming visit to Los Angeles on her tour in United States. At the same time he is investigating the shooting of a fellow officer and former partner, Nordberg (played by the infamous O.J. Simpson). His investigation and his task of protecting Queen Elizabeth II cross paths as his pursuit of clues brings him upon the wealthy Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) and the lovely Jane (Priscilla Presley). Drebin haphazardly investigates Ludwig while falling in love with Jane. It’s classic detective drama fodder, ripe for skewering.
Jane: Would you like a nightcap?
Frank: No, thank you, I don't wear them.
Leslie Nielsen’s years playing dramatic roles gave him prime training for his long stint in comedy that took over the latter years of his career. Following his memorable performance in Airplane!, he appeared in several spoofs (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Scary Movie 3 & 4, Repossessed) but none as successful and enduring as the bumbling Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun series. His clumsy nature and mind-blowing fortune when chasing, confronting or matching wits with the bad guys, is something to behold. Nielsen plays Drebin almost entirely straight – giving the sight-gags more credence and letting the funny play out from the script and moment, but every once in a while he delivers a knowing expression – a confused tilt of the eyes or head when something that doesn’t add up is said or plays out – but it is the straight precision with which he plays scenes that gives The Naked Gun its humorous potency.
Frank: It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
Jane: Goodyear?
Frank: No, the worst
George Kennedy stars as Ed Hocken – partner to Lt. Drebin – and he is more than just the straight man to Nielsen’s comedic ways. This picture, unlike other comedies, doesn’t merely play off the humor generated by the silly butting heads with the normal - not at all – most characters are given chances to utter foolish things or play out physical comedic scenes without the need for the straight foil. Take O.J. Simpson’s accident prone death throes after he’s shot by a gang of henchmen on a ship, or Pricilla Presley’s stair-falling and doorway crashing introduction scene, it’s all comedy gold.
In the commentary, David Zucker and Robert Wiess discuss how they leaned more toward visual gags than clever puns (the kind that pervade Airplane!) since it would play better in international markets, and while there are a great number of visual bits that remain hilarious (“Nice Beaver”), for me the greater triumphs come from the verbal play and Nielsen’s honest delivery:
Jane: I wanted you to know, now, I've loved you since the first day I met you, and I'll never stop. I'm a very lucky woman.
Frank: So am I...
It never gets old and when the crazy credits roll, it’s easy to want to watch it all over again right away (or hope even harder that Naked Gun 2 ½ and Naked Gun 33/3 make their way to Blu-ray soon).
The Video
4/5
Presented with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio (versus the original 1.85:1 ration shown in theaters), The Naked Gun looks terrific in high definition. When the movie begins, in Beirut of all places (where many dictators and other assorted ‘bad guys’ are plotting against the U.S.), the soft and smoky scene might give you pause, but the moment we catch a close-up of Lt. Frank Drebin prepping his escape, the level of clarity, detail and the balance of colors become the first moment of a great many where this film shines in HD. Film grain is present and healthy throughout, dust and debris almost non-existent, and throughout this digitally remastered image is evidence that this is absolutely the best this film has ever looked at home.
The Sound
3.5/5
The audio (English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio) is good and suits the film just fine, though it isn’t a wow experience (not that this film offers many opportunities to take the full audio for a spin). A few gags make use of the subwoofer, the surrounds get a chance to do their thing during the ball game finale, and the center channel carries Drebin’s narration and the rest of the dialogue without a hitch. Occasionally some scenes could have used a little more heft in the audio, but that’s minor complaint for an audio that serves its film well.
The Extras
2.5/ 5
Theatricl Trailer HD
Commentary by David Zucker, Robert Weiss and Peter Tilden: Tilden serves as facilitator in this commentary – prodding questions from time to time in between the self-deprecation and playful nature of Zucker and Weiss. This is an entertaining listen recommended for several key and fun small anecdotes about the actors and the origins of some gags.
Final Thoughts
I have long-been a fan of the Zucker/Abraham/Zucker films. My VHS tape of Airplane (and even the non-Zucker/Abrahams sequel Airplane II - I love Shatner’s crazy performance in that film) was practically worn out during my youth, and films like Top Secret and Hot Shots have always been on my must own list, but The Naked Gun films – skewering detective tales – and the Police Squad TV show from whence it came - really connected with me. I find it far funnier than most ‘comedies’ released today and watching Leslie Nielsen at the top of his game is always a real pleasure. This is an easy one to recommend!
Frank: It's true what they say: Cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano; sure, it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you hollow inside.
Overall (Not an average)
4/5
Neil Middlemiss
Kernersville, NC
