Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.

Review #826: Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.

Cast
Leslie Nielsen (Lieutenant Frank Drebin), Priscilla Presley (Jane Spencer), George Kennedy (Captain Ed Hocken), O.J. Simpson (Detective Nordberg), Fred Ward (Rocco Dillion), Kathleen Freeman (Muriel), Anna Nicole Smith (Tanya Peters), Ellen Greene (Louise), Ed Williams (Ted Olsen), and Raye Birk (Papshmir) Directed by Peter Segal (#466 - Nutty Professor II: The Klumps)

Review
If you wanted to see a Naked Gun movie...just watch the first one three times. The movie will be the same, but compared to the two actual sequels you won't really miss much. Honestly, this isn't a bad movie by any means, but there is such an underwhelming feel to everything, from the execution of ideas to the general movie itself. No one really stands out, aside from the numerous cameos that come and go quickly. The opening sequence (spoofing the sequence from The Untouchables) is probably the best part of the movie, having fine timing shown by Nielsen, though the film never really gets any better from there. It's not even something to get worked up about its middling quality. It's not even so much a case of it being the third (and last) one, it simply isn't that funny. Nielsen is fine as ever, but he can't help a movie that relies on tired gags and not so quick gags. The dynamic between him and Presley isn't as prevalent this time around, with a good portion of the movie being between him and the trio of Ward-Freeman-Smith, which doesn't have much fun to it. The jokes that are present seem either verge on the thinly obvious side and the side of just not being that good of a joke. The sequence with Pia Zadora is quirky, sometimes being funny. Even the usual supporting cast of Kennedy and Simpson (in his final film, released less than three months before the murders and chase) are lacking. By the time the climax comes around, it's a frustrated sigh of relief more than anything. The only good thing is that it is at least better than Airplane II: The Sequel (#698), and I guess that says something. If you're looking for something with Leslie Nielsen...check for something else.

Side note: We just reached 20,000 views on this blog! I'm happy to hear that, and I thank anyone who's come to the blog over the past few months (and years).

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Review #699: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Cast
Leslie Nielsen (Lt. Frank Drebin), Priscilla Presley (Jane Spencer), Ricardo Montalbán (Vincent Ludwig), George Kennedy (Capt. Ed Hocken), O. J. Simpson (Det. Nordberg), Susan Beaubian (Wilma Nordberg), Nancy Marchand (Mayor Barkley), Raye Birk (Pahpshmir), and Jeannette Charles (Queen Elizabeth II) Directed by David Zucker (#664 - Airplane!)

Review
Yes, we have come to the point of The Naked Gun. In a way, I feel proud of that fact, though I do wonder how it took so long for me to review it. In short, I was lazy. But hey, nobody's perfect, though this movie sure comes close to it. This movie will tickle your funny bone so much that you'll be on the floor with laughter calling for help. Yes, there are sight gags, but the movie's biggest strength is with Leslie Nielsen, who has the absolute best timing with any sort of gag. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, though the beginning scene (and the credits that go along with it) is hard to beat, especially with Nielsen at the wheel. Any scene with Nielsen and Presley is effective because it provides the movie with a nice blend of fun and humor, especially at the end of the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ricardo Montalbán in this movie, and he does a pretty good job at basically playing a villain in a comedy movie, but it is fun to see him, especially because he does it so well. The supporting cast is right for the job, complimenting a movie that already has so much going for it. It's a movie that is over 25 years old, and that's usually the point where a movie starts to feel like fine wine, well versed and well aged. Go see the movie, it will be the best 85 minutes you could spend because the movie just lets you have fun.

Now then. There is a matter of the next review. It will be...the 700th. No spoilers here...yet.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.