Review of The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) by Andrew D — 22 May 2013

In what could be known as his career defining role, Leslie Nielsen stars as Frank Drebin, an officer of Police Squad who has just returned from saving the USA from terrorism to learn that his partner of nine years has been put in ITU from a sort of intense shoot out.

Vowing to find out who did this to him, Frank carries on with his work while also learning of the Queen of England's arrival and his role in protecting her. Little does he know that there's an assassination of the queen being planned and it might not be as far apart from his partner's attempted murder as he thinks.

Next to Airplane, The Naked Gun is one of my favorite spoof films of all time. Coming from the same makers of Airplane and the Police Squad TV series, the film is loaded with many gags that are bound to make someone laugh.

There's pauses between each joke, but their brief in order to set up for the next, which works almost flawlessly. The best scene in the entire film is near the end at the baseball park. From the baseball bloopers to the final showdown, it's easily the part with the most gags and most laughs.

Nielsen does an amazing job as Frank because of his comedic timing, which almost always lands. Even if it doesn't land hard, it will still make someone laugh. The acting among the others is good for a film like this and the action is exciting when it wants to be, while adding a comedic spice to it.

If there's anything to complain about in this film, it would be some of the sexual gags. There are quite a bit in here, but a couple of them can be groaners, so keep a look out for those. The Naked Gun is a classic spoof film that demands to be seen.

If you've never heard of Leslie Nielsen before, watch this film first! It's a great introduction to the master of parodies!