The Naked Gun: Delivering A Simply Hilarious Requel

In a dystopian wasteland of reboots and remakes, it seemed almost inevitable that The Naked Gun would get the same treatment. But in this junkyard that is the modern comedy, who can possibly replicate the deadpan hysteria of Leslie Neilson’s Lt. Frank Drebin? The filmmakers behind this reboot could not have made a better decision than casting Liam Neeson, not just because of his similar name, but also in their comedic timing and delivery. Anyone familiar with Neeson’s appearance on the Ricky Gervais’ Extras can speak to his comedic potential (his Seth McFarlane collaborations not withstanding). Meanwhile, the pairing of he and Director Akiva Schafer is as perfect of a match that can be made, with Neeson’s strait laced delivery working together with Schafer’s gag a minute breakneck paced direction, one fully committing to the Zucker/Abrahms’s style that defined an era of comedy and made Leslie Neilson a star. Now as funny as Neeson is, the film’s secret weapon is co-star Pamela Anderson, whose comedic timing and chemistry with Neeson will have audiences laughing hysterically about every time she is on screen. Anderson’s current resurgence has been a welcome one, and with roles like this are sure to help her stick around for a long time.

Schafer’s remake follows a similar structure to the original film; Neeson’s Frank Drebin Jr. is tasked with solving a crime, one which is entwined in the political intrigue of the city’s elite, causing Drebin to be thrown off the case. While demoted to the position of traffic cop, he accidentally stumbles upon a murder plot, one which crosses paths with Beth Davenport (Anderson), sister of the newly deceased. Against his wishes, she delves into the crime, investigating tech billionaire and Elon Musk stand-in Richard Cane (Danny Huston). From there, the two team up to solve the case and save Police Squad, all the while stopping a plan from the evil cabal of tech billionaires and those who fear crab men.

Although the film’s narrative is very much a structure and set-up for gags, it is anchored by incredible performances and superb comedic timing all around. As Frank and Beth, Neeson and Anderson shine with their impeccable chemistry and comedic timing; one would think that they have been working together for decades. On the other hand, Huston’s tech-billionaire is supported by his head henchman Sig Gustafson, played by the always entertaining Kevin Durand, who, with limited screentime, is still as entertaining as ever. The film follows suit with a lot of clever visual gags, word play, and slapstick utilizing the formula of the ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) classics. This time, taking aim at tech billionaires and monopsonies such as TKO, and taking them to task through hysterically poignant satire that does not shy away from the problematic nature of their service.

Among the greatest strengths of The Naked Gun is its very acknowledgement of being a legacy sequel/reboot. Now, this fact could easily have been incredibly annoying had it been handled by a lesser crew, but, in this case, it simply works and only adds to the hilarity as the film itself is an indictment of the landscape of legacy sequels and remakes that fill showtimes all summer long. If there was anything about the film to complain about, it would have to be its visual style. Though most audiences don’t go into a comedy looking for the best visuals in the world, much of the film looks flat and relatively uninteresting, lacking a bit more in terms of dimension. While it features great gags on screen, it could never quite escape the look of a bland studio comedy. With most of the humor across the film’s promotional material making up of the early stretch of the film, although not strictly an issue with the film itself, that opening stretch does feel a bit more drab than it would have been otherwise.

All that being said, The Naked Gun is a must-watch for audiences who are just looking for a good laugh; the film is simply hilarious, incorporating the ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) gag-a-minute structure to ensure that there is always something to laugh at.

still courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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Brad Simon

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