When was the last time a movie really made you laugh? I’m not talking about an older film you revisted I’m talking about a new film in a cinema – a new release that really made you laugh out loud.
I’m tipping that it hasn’t happened for awhile but great news – that is about to change with the arrival of director Akiva Schaeffer’s (Saturday Night Live) The Naked Gun in cinemas.
I’ll admit that I was nervous heading into the cinema to watch The Naked Gun. After all the original movies, plus the television show, are considered some of the best comedy movies of all time. So much so that when you talk to the great comedy actors of today they will all say the same thing – those films had a huge impact on their early careers.
But to be honest while those films were funny they weren’t exactly what you would call today politically correct – so how would a team filmmakers bring that type of comedy to the big screen without being cancelled. Then there was also the fact that cast in the lead role was Liam Neeson (Taken) – a great actor but not necessarily known for his comedy.
I need not of worried though because The Naked Gun is not only the funniest film you will see this year – it is one of the best comedies modern cinema has ever given us.
Neeson plays Detective Frank Drebin Jnr, the son of the legendary character played by Leslie Neilson. Like his father Frank does what he can to clean up the mean streets of Los Angeles, even if that means going outside the law – something that annoys his boss Chief Davis (CCH Pounder – The Shield)
After going outside the law once again while investigating a bank robbery Davis demotes Frank and his partner Ed Hocken Jnr.(Paul Walter Hauser – Richard Jewell) to a role investigating car crashes. While on their first case they stumble across a death that links back to the bank robbery and soon has Frank investigating tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston – 21 Grams) while falling for the charms of crime fiction writer Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl).
When it comes to putting everything together for The Naked Gun the screenwriting team have completely nailed everything. From the over-top villain story-line that would do the creators of Austin Powers proud through to delivering brilliant pieces of comedy throughout the film. This is not one of those films where one joke lands and the next fails – this is a film where every joke hits the spot – whether it is a one liner, a piece of slap-stick or even something funny happening in the background.
Then there is the fact that this film not only pays homage to the original Naked Gun films it re-captures their magic to the point where it deserves to be called the fourth film in the franchise. The writers have even been smarter enough to include pop culture references from today and the past so that the film can be loved by fans of the old films as well as fresh audience members who have never even seen them.
The last piece of the puzzle that comes together to make The Naked Gun a classic film are the performances of the cast. While Liam Neeson might not be known for comedy perhaps it is something that he should think about doing more because he is brilliant here. He has the rubbery comedic facial expressions of Rowan Atkinson and the comedic timing of Steve Carrell and to be blunt he is better than a lot of the other so-called comedic actors out there today.
He is also well supported by Pamela Anderson who after wowing Hollywood with her dramatic performance in The Last Showgirl can now add comedy to her acting repertoire. In playing a character that is a parody of the femme fatales from the 1960s she gets the opportunity to match one liners with Neeson and even outrun a killer snowman (yes you read that right) in one of the film’s most outrageous skits.
If you plan on going to see The Naked Gun be prepared to laugh like you have never laughed before. This is a film that is literally a laugh a minute and is not afraid to bring back the type of edgy comedy that many thought was gone from Hollywood forever.
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