selden's Full Review: Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
The Naked Gun, to the best of my knowledge, never won any film awards. I know for certain that it didn't win an Academy Award or Golden Globe. Moreover, it wasn't shown at the Cannes Film Festival, or similar types in Rome, Sydney or London. Not that it matters. If you like comedy that is full of slapstick and ridiculous situations, then you will probably enjoy this movie.
I first saw this movie at the cinemas. Since then I have watched it every time it's been put on television. Unlike a lot of movies, I haven't grown tired of it yet. I still laugh at the same jokes and find myself laughing at details I'd previously missed.
Leslie Nielsen plays Lieutenant Frank Drebin of Police Squad. He's a middle-aged cop of Dutch/Irish/Welsh extraction who has recently separated from his wife. George Kennedy plays a fairly straight role as his partner Ed Hocken, while O. J. Simpson plays the luckless Officer Nordberg.
The basic plot to the film involves evil drug-smuggling businessman Ludwig - played by Ricardo Montalban - hired to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II at a Los Angeles baseball game. Officer Nordberg is unfairly implicated in smuggling heroin so Drebin must clear his name, while also protecting the Queen during her stay in Los Angeles.
Early on in the movie Drebin meets Jane Spencer, played by Priscilla Presley. She works for businessman Ludwig and is totally unaware of his evil doings. Drebin immediately falls head-over-heels in love with Spencer:
"Her hair was the color of gold in old paintings. She had a full set of curves and the kind of legs you'd like to suck on for a day. She was giving me a look I could feel in my hip-pocket..."
This love affair is silly like everything else in the movie. Their dinner scene at Drebin's home is hilarious, and contains some not so subtle dialogue. As well as including some truly banal comments, the lovemaking scene contains some unforgettable images involving condoms worn over the entire body. Some critics were pleasantly surprised by Presley's acting in this film. During another romantic episode later on in the film Drebin declares:
"Since I've met you I've noticed things I'd never seen before: birds singing; dew glistening on a newly formed leaf; stop signs."
The Naked Gun contains plenty of cartoon-styled violence. Guns are shot; bombs explode; cars run-over people; a tiger attacks a baseball player; Drebin fights off a pillow and people fall from buildings. Like all good films involving cops, this one has a car chase. The one difference being Drebin is chauffeured by a teenage girl under driving instructions by an elderly gent.
There are a number of minor characters added to the story to add interest. There is Officer Al whose face is never seen due to his extreme height, and scientist Ted - the inventor of the "Swiss Army Shoe". O. J. Simpson also plays a minor role in this film. His encounter with drug smugglers at the start of the movie is one of the best loved and remembered.
Of course the real star is Leslie Nielsen. He played straight-talking, street-wise cops earlier on in his career, and one can imagine that he had fun poking fun at all this. Only once or twice during the film Nielsen appears to hide a small grin while delivering his lines, but overall he plays the bumbling police officer to perfection.
For me there are a number of highlights. The first that comes to mind is his role at the Queen's banquet. Believing he is protecting the Queen from a would-be assassin, Drebin dives on her, sliding across the dining table. Naturally Drebin is reprimanded for this, and the newspaper headlines the following day detail the incident. This results with George Kennedy's funniest lines in the film. He says:
"What is journalism coming to? You were laying on top of the Queen with her legs wrapped around you, and they call this journalism!"
Another highlight, and the funniest moment for me, is when Drebin sings the American National Anthem at a baseball game in Los Angeles. He knocks out the world famous Italian opera singer Enrico Pallazzo, and assumes his identity in order to foil the assassination attempt on the Queen. Shuffling nervously he sings off-key. He doesn't know the words so he makes up his own.
I won't go into details about how the movie ends. If you are one of the few who haven't seen the film then I would highly recommend you rent this one from your local video store. Two more The Naked Gun films were made after the success of the original, and like the first they are also very entertaining. So if you need a laugh and you have a well-developed sense of the absurd, this is the movie for you.
Product DetailsOriginal Title:The Naked Gun - From the Files of Police Squad! - I Love the 80's (Bonus CD)Actors: Leslie Nielsen - O.J. Simpson - Pri...More at iNetVideo.com
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