The Naked Gun

The Naked Gun
Starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston
Directed by Akiva Schaffer

The 80s and 90s were known for spoof comedies, movies that playfully made fun of big budget blockbusters and disaster movies and giving them a smartly comedic spin. Movies like "Airplane," "Spaceballs," "Hot Shots!" and "Police Academy" have withstood the test of time and still illicit laughs in viewers, and among them is "The Naked Gun" series starring the late, great Leslie Nielsen. The story followed Nielsen's bumbling police lieutenant Frank Drebin, who delivered the laughs with deadpan humor and a mix of Vaudeville, silent comedy and sight gags. Then the 2000s came, and the spoof subgenre died an agonizing, slow death after what seemed to be one of the greats - "Scary Movie." The success of "Scary Movie" and its sequel unfortunately spawned a slew of lifeless, unfunny films like "Date Movie," "Superhero Movie," "Epic Movie" and "Disaster Movie," and they were as dull and soulless as their uninspired titles. Jokes were reduced to dated humor and raunchy comedy, and there was no hope for the subgenre. Now, in 2025, there's the continuation of "The Naked Gun" with Liam Neeson taking the mantle as Frank Drebin Jr., and I had many, many, many, many...many...many reservations about it - but for the first time in a long time, I found myself laughing in the theater so hard I was crying and my stomach hurt, and while not every joke landed, there was more than enough that makes me want to see it again to catch the jokes I missed because I couldn't breathe.

Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) wants to make his father proud on the LAPD Police Squad, but his methods are unorthodox, borderline illegal. Even though he and his partner Captain ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) get results, he comes under fire from the Squad's Chief Davis (CCH Pounder), who takes him off the case of a major bank heist conducted by Sig Gustafson (Kevin Durand) under the command of his boss, software engineer Richard Cane (Danny Huston). While investigating the apparent suicide of a man, he meets his sister Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), who feels her brother's death wasn't suicide, but murder thanks to Cane. Realizing both cases are one in the same, Drebin goes rogue to solve the mystery and keep the Police Squad's lights on.

The comedy genre as a whole is struggling in theaters, as the majority of them are now R-rated raunchy comedies who abandon true laughs for how many times someone can swear or make a sexual reference to get the same laughs, with them diminishing with each use. There's no intelligent comedies being produced, and ones that do are relegated to streaming services, such as the long-awaited sequel "Happy Gilmore 2." Audiences in theaters don't laugh anymore - at least intentionally, but there's a lot of unintentional humor in many poorly-made movies lately - and "The Naked Gun" was able to resurrect the laughter from the depths of the grave in the cinema with its blend of deadpan humor delivery, exaggerated sight gags, sexual innuendos (I know I may sound hypocritical, but they don't use this ad nauseam), and everything that made the originals great. It has the feel of the classic detective movie, and Liam Neeson is the most inspired choice to man the helm of this ship, more than just because his name is really similar to Leslie Nielsen. 

Liam Neeson is now best known for his tough, no-nonsense action roles in the "Taken" franchise as well as his numerous forgettable one-word movies like "Retribution," "Absolution" and "Blacklight," so casting him here was a stroke of genius. He's able to act the most serious in his career by doing the most stupidest things (such as literally beating a man with his own arms) and make it seem not just typical, but serious. His gruff voice spouts humor you never expect (such as his anger over losing episodes of his favorite show, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and since he's known for his action films, seeing him literally in action in the most absurdist ways seems natural to him. Pair him up with Pamela Anderson as the femme fatale that the late Anna Nicole Smith had, and you got a great mix (and an "Austin Powers" inspired moment that was by far the funniest bit in the movie).

In a day and age where everything has to be at least a two-hour trek, "The Naked Gun" runs at a scant 85 minutes, and the ratio to the movie time and jokes is about one joke per ten seconds (not really mathematically correct, but it feels that way), so you really get your comedic bang for your buck. As I said earlier, some jokes don't fully land, but those that do are so amazing you forgive the movie for the bad ones. It doesn't rely on topical humor that will date the movie, and the humor is as timeless as the franchise is known for.

Now a movie like this isn't for everyone. The opening sequence is the bank robbery from the trailer, where the bad guys steal something from a safe deposit box that's literally called "P.L.O.T. Device," and if you don't find that funny, you won't be enjoying your time. I remember myself and a friend showing two younger guys "Spaceballs" and we were laughing our butts off, and the kids just sat there. This isn't a comedy for everyone, but for those who love the spoof movies, you'll be glad to know it's been revived thanks to Liam Neeson's "The Naked Gun."

The Score: A