Format: Streaming video from Paramount on The Projector
I’ve had a number of different methods to watch films over the last 16 or so years of this blog, but now and then I get to add a new one. Through a series of events, I now have access to a device that projects streaming channels on a blank wall. Long story, and I may reveal it some time in the future. Anyway, this weekend, I’ve spent some time with a cousin, his wife, their son, and their son’s partner, and we watched the remake of The Naked Gun. So, while this is not entirely unique for me, this review will also come with the necessary context of seeing this with a group of people, and frankly, that is the way to watch this movie.
For those uninitiated (and why would you be uninitiated in this), The Naked Gun is based on the movie of the same name, which came from a short one-season television show called Police Squad. This is a film done in the style of Airplane! with hundreds of jokes tossed at the screen at the same time with the hope that a few of them will stick. This is the sort of comedy that rewards rewatching, since there are often multiple jokes happening at the same time, and you have to work to catch them all.
In the opening sequence, we’re going to be introduced to Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), a cop working with Police Squad to curtail crime. Drebin’s policing style is all action and damn the consequences. He is simultaneously a true force of right and good, and also isn’t really sure why he needs to follow the law himself. Because of his actions foiling a bank robbery potentially in ways that weren’t quite legal, Frank has gotten Police Squad in trouble. He and his partner Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) are put on collision detail by their boss (CCH Pounder) until things cool down again.
The collision they are sent to investigate involves the death of a man named Simon Davenport. Davenport’s sister Beth (Pamela Anderson) becomes involved in the case and also becomes Drebin’s love interest. The investigation eventually leads them to make contact with Richard Cane (Danny Huston), a wealthy tycoon (think Elon Musk, with the same sort of negative charisma), who may be behind the death of Simon Davenport and a number of disturbing conspiracies.
This style of movie depends on constant jokes and those jokes need to come from every direction and at all times. A lot of the jokes are not going to land. They’re going to be missed or ignored or just won’t be funny to a good percentage of the audience. That’s not a problem. Anything that can be tossed in—commentary, word play, slapstick, and more is going to show up, aim for a few laughs, and eventually give way into more jokes.
But there are some truly original moments. At one point, Frank and Beth have started a relationship. We get a short dating sequence that turns into a weekend at a snowy cabin that then involves them building a giant snowman, bringing him to life with an incantation, adding him into their sex life, then excluding him, which turns him murderous. There is, in a sense, a sort of menage a trois situation happening that turns into the snowman attempting to murder the couple until he is stopped. This sequence is nonsensical, but also very funny.
The sad truth is that this version of The Naked Gun is never going to hit the same highs as the original did. In part, that’s because this is a remake and they rarely surpass the film they cam from. (Note: I said rarely). There are some very solid jokes and a few sequences tht never seem to stop. It’s hoard not to like this in some respects.
But it lacks the frenetic nature of the original film. Films like The Naked Gun and Airplane! work on sheer volume. You drop enough jokes into the narrative, and if one in 5 hits, you’re still getting better than a laugh every minute. This version is scaled down a bit. The jokes try a bit harder and go longer, so there are fewer of them. There are a few moments of the film where it all gets a bit bogged down in itself.
Still, you could do a lot worse. There’s a lot going on here still, even though its toned down. It’s good and it’s funny. Just don’t expect it to replace the original and Leslie Neilsen.
Why to watch The Naked Gun: The surreal weekend with the animated snowman alone is worth the price of admission>
Why not to watch: The original is better.
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