4 stars out of 5
The six episodes of Police Squad! that aired when I was 12-going-on-13 couldn’t have been a better bar mitzvah gift. Sure, I had loved the same filmmakers’ Airplane! when I was 11, but now I was a sophisticated tween (though the word hadn’t been coined yet). So, I understood more of the jokes. It was that perfect blend of smart and stupid that appeals to me still.
Understandably, I was a little concerned when I learned of a Naked Gun reboot (following the three “from the files of Police Squad” movies between 1988 and 1994). The OG Zucker brothers aren’t involved, and the name Seth MacFarlane in the producer slot didn’t do much for my confidence. Stupid comedy is easy to do, but smart is a lot harder.
I was a bit more hopeful about director/co-writer Akiva Schaffer from The Lonely Island. And, I have to say, he does a very nice job here. The jokes are rapid-fire, and when one falls flat it’s fine as another joke is just around the corner. I laughed a lot. I was impressed that they didn’t rely on scatological or sex jokes (ok, there is a little of both). And the sinister plot our hero uncovers was actually much easier to follow than the evil plans in any number of superhero movies.
Liam Neeson does solid work as Frank Drebin Jr., playing it straight. Excellent actor Paul Walter Hauser doesn’t get much to do as the straight-man sidekick. But Danny Huston is terrific as the corporate villain, and Pamela Anderson shows some comic flair as Drebin’s love interest.
The writers seemed to lose steam as the movie reaches its conclusion. And if the sum total isn’t as brilliant as the old-school Police Squad/Naked Gun, the filmmakers do honor and capture that spirit. Surely they could’ve done a lot worse. And stop calling me Shirley.
being underrated is overrated
Jack Silbert, curator