The Naked Gun review: Making movies silly again
I quite enjoyed comedy spoofs in the early 2000s with Austin Powers and Scary Movie, but they got progressively worse and slowly disappeared. But Akiva Schaffer – of The Lonely Island fame – has successfully resuscitated the genre with his reboot/sequel of The Naked Gun.
This crime spoof stars Liam Neeson as Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen‘s Frank Drebin in the original. He’s approached by Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) over the death of her software engineer brother Simon – she’s sure he was murdered. When Drebin Jr. starts to investigate the crime, he realises it’s connected to a recent bank heist, which was a cover for the theft of the P.L.O.T. Device. Yep!
To be honest, you don’t need to know the plot. Nobody is here for a well-crafted police procedural; they are here for the silly jokes, sight gags, wordplay and slapstick. They come thick and fast, and some may well go over your head the first time around. You have to pay close attention, as there are often gags in the background. There are constant laughs in the first half, but it gets weighed down by plot mechanics in the second and there’s an obvious reduction in jokes.
One of my favourite sections is a montage involving Frank, Beth and a snowman. Yes, you read that correctly. It makes no sense, and it doesn’t need to be there (Schaffer fought for it not to be cut), but it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s such a rogue, absurd choice, and it doesn’t fit in tonally with the rest of the movie, but I’m glad this bizarre segment exists. I also loved a heat vision sequence where Frank and Beth appear to be doing rude things, as it reminded me of the recurring shadow gag in Austin Powers.
You don’t typically associate Neeson and Anderson with comedies, so it was refreshing to see them leading one. Anderson makes perfect sense as the femme fatale parody, given her early career roles. They don’t lean into the comedy; they take every scene seriously and use a deadpan voice, which adds to the absurdity of the situation. I have no idea how Anderson kept a straight face during her musical number!
Drebin Jr. has a line that feels like an accurate way to describe the film’s goals: “I want to be just like you, but at the same time, completely different and original.” The story and characters are different, but the silly tone and nature of the comedy are the same. Schaffer does a great job of inventing new jokes, delivering callbacks to the original or putting a new spin on existing gags. You can enjoy this without seeing the original, as it very much stands on its own, but you won’t appreciate the references and cameos.
I didn’t think The Naked Gun would be for me, but I was convinced to check it out by all the positive reviews, and I’m so glad I did. This is a hoot! Make sure you stay for the entirety of the credits and pay close attention – there are lots of gags hidden there too. You might even hear a musical surprise.
In cinemas now