- 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.
- If you don't find that exchange humorous, then I doubt you'd like The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! or, for that matter, any other film written by Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams. For a ten-year period that arguably ended with this film, the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy team was responsible for some of the most enjoyably absurd films ever made. What impressed me most upon recently rewatching The Naked Gun, however, was the breadth of humor displayed. There's plenty of slapstick, wordplay, and parody to go around, and a willingness to reference works as diverse as Dirty Harry, 70's police dramas, and B-movie detective noir.
- In this context, it seems perfectly natural for Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Neilson) to enter the film by single-handedly beating up a roomful of mid-80's political boogiemen (poor Gorbachev) ala Rambo before returning to Los Angeles. Once there, he and the rest of Police Squad (including George Kennedy and a bedridden O.J. Simpson) are charged with managing security for the upcoming visit of Queen Elizabeth II (a lookalike named Jeannette Charles). After a memorable bathroom break, it doesn't take long for Dreben to stumble, and I use that word literally, upon the dastardly plans of businessman Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), who intends to use a special form of mind control to assassinate the Queen. Complicating matters is a femme fatale named Jane (Priscilla Presley), whose first appearance is reminiscent of Barbara Stanwyck's in Double Indemnity, only clumsier. "That's a honey of an ankle bracelet you're wearing," Frank observes. "Oh, did it slip down there again?" Jane replies.
- Sometimes the only way to sort out a mess like this is to impersonate a tenor and sing the National Anthem at an Angels game. Of course, one must always keep an eye out for the nefarious Reggie Jackson. Did I mention that the film also has great cameos by Weird Al Yankovic, Lawrence Tierney, Dr. Joyce Brothers, and a whole host of baseball announcers? Anyway, there's no point in trying to convey the zaniness of this film. If you're a hardcore fan of the old Police Squad! TV series, you might be disappointed to see that Leslie Neilson doesn't play it quite as straight as he once did. But as his Lt. Drebin explains, "It's a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!" I couldn't have said it any better myself.
- Upon review, many of the jokes and several characters are taken directly from Police Squad!.
