The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: David Zucker
Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban, O.J. Simpson (unfortunately)
From: Paramount
Yes, this was watched last night because Queen Elizabeth II has passed away. No comment on this event, and not just because I am a Yankee who happens to be a 14th cousin once removed to her-I swear that’s true. Many people aren’t despondent over this occurrence but let me say no more… nor state any opinions on Gorbachev; I had no memory of the opening which had various actors play enemies of the United States at the time or just evil world leaders, including Gorbachev. Truth be told I hadn’t seen any Naked Gun pictures since the 90’s so there was no telling what my opinion would be as an adult.
Fortunately, this is still a very funny picture. Note that I saw this for the plot that involved Queen Elizabeth II, not Ricardo Montalban attempting to kill her! The noir aspects of this completely flew over my head as a kid as I had never seen one at the time. This parody movie had enough laughs for me between the sight gags, the puns, the pratfalls, some dad jokes, & the sometimes ribald humor that could even involve anatomically correct statues. Anchoring it was Leslie Nielsen’s deadpan performance. Unlike those 21st century parody movies that I’ve avoided like they have COVID but heard enough about, the humor here is timeless and isn’t based on then-topical events.
O.J. Simpson is someone I’ll comment on; despite how the criminal prosecution turned out, I am quite certain he was guilty of that crime. His presence here wasn’t enough to ruin the experience-the fact that his character Nordberg was a goof who constantly had bad things happen to him was nice in a cathartic way.
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