The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad

The misadventures of Lieutenant Frank Drebin were first on view in the ABC series Police Squad in the early 1980s, courtesy of the three guys who gave the world AIRPLANE! - David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams.  It only lasted a half dozen or so episodes because the network felt viewers had to pay too much attention to get the jokes.   I believe it.  So much is going on in the foreground and background of a ZAZ production that one needs a few viewings.  The show continued the gag a second style, and always had a great opening title sequence, concluding with a special guest star who died in some grisly yet funny way and a narrator who announced the name of the episode as something different than what was flashed onscreen.

Police Squad had a large enough cult to convince David Zucker to direct and co-write (with his old compadres) 1988's THE NAKED GUN: FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD.  This time it was a hit, and garnered two sequels of varying quality.  But this movie strikes comedic gold nearly all of the time.  Leslie Nielsen, who by now had transformed into a bona-fide comic actor, reprises his role as the clueless and accident prone Drebin with such a skillful lack of grace he may well have been the '80s answer to Inspector Clouseau.  

Queen Elizabeth II is visiting Los Angeles, and a local bigwig/drug kingpin named Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), under the employ of a terrorist from Beirut named, yes, Pahpshmir (Raye Birk), is plotting to have her murdered.  With a rather elaborate plan that involves, yes, Reggie Jackson.  Meanwhile, Drebin has to restore the good name of his colleague Detective Nordberg (yes, O.J. Simpson), who was found with heroin in his jacket after staging a failed bust on Ludwig's dock.

Yeah, don't trouble yourself with the plot.  THE NAKED GUN is a near non-stop barrage of slapstick, puns, misunderstandings, you name it.  Almost all of the gags work.  Even when one doesn't, the film is already on to the next one.   My favorites were the graffiti wall, the very tall detective, and the climax at the Dodger game.  Nielsen perfects the bumbling persona, never breaking his straight face; that's why it works so well.   In fine support are George Kennedy as the Captain and Nancy Marchand as the Mayor.  Priscilla Presley shows surprising comedic chops as a love interest.  O.J.? He's pretty funny, too.  Montalban's casting is inspired.  There are also several fun cameos.

Maybe this brand of humor was milked a few too many times later, but THE NAKED GUN earns a favorable place on the ZAZ resume.   It is one of the funniest movies I've seen.