IR Film Review: THE NAKED GUN [Paramount]

The auspice of "The Naked Gun" is that it has to be done in a certain way. Many people have tried over the years to bring it back to life. Liam Neeson is now the right age, temperament and career standing to be able to take risks and play with his image. Like Leslie Nielsen that is the reason it mostly works. Unlike the late 80s with "The Naked Gun" or even the 1982 series "Police Squad" before, this movie is less sight gags related though there is a little bit of it. It is about verbal play. Akiva Shaffer ("Hot Rod") and producer Seth McFarlane get what they are pursuing but this is a different time than the Zucker and Abrahams era both in terms of tone, the line and what people consider funny. Again the casting around Neeson works well since they are using mostly serious actors in a way with a tongue-in-cheek element which works well (and did so as well in the past). Danny Huston for example in almost the Ricardo Montalban role works very well, especially during a Supper Club sequence. While there are some scenes from the trailer that didn't make their way in fully, it is just a matter in a way of what serves the story.

The best bit in the film is when it goes off the reservation in a way because that is what made the original one work. This specific flashback uses an 80s song and the situation perfectly devolves in the best way because it is laugh-out-loud stupid (on purpose). Playing against Neeson as the femme against him (or with him if you will) is Pamela Anderson (here wearing just a little more makeup than we have had seen her recently in the media during "The Last Showgirl"). Most of Drebin Jr.'s co-horts at Police Squad are not given as much screentime as in the original. Paul Walter Hauser as the son of Ed played by George Kennedy in an example. The verbal gags including one outside Neeson's apartment come fast and furious and one sees he is enjoying the progression and play here. Maybe because Neeson has had more intrinsic dramatic roles but there is a slight bit of dread beneath his performance but he continually tries to make sure it is buried pretty deep. Nielsen might have been that way to an earlier generation The finale here, like the baseball gane in the first one, is about playing with the concept but also playing with Neeson's image. There is a Black Eyed Peas reference earlier and an action sequence to a Fergie song is funny (but not practical at all) that really anchors the ending. Cameos are peppered throughout but not as much as one would think. "The Naked Gun" is silly fun but, in certain ways, it is no "Ted" (but it is not supposed to be). This "Naked Gun" is paying reverence but is still doing something new while skidding good taste (especially in one scene) but also providing some comedy purely for its own sake. B

By Tim Wassberg