'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!'
No matter how silly the idea of rewatching 'The Naked Gun' might be to Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt, as Americans, they must be gracious and considerate podcast hosts. The guys revisit the 1988 classic 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, and Ricardo Montalban.
Cast
Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin
Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer
Ricardo Montalbán as Vincent Ludwig
George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hocken
O.J. Simpson as Nordberg
Reggie Jackson as Reggie Jackson
Directed by: David Zucker
Written by: Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Pat Proft
Music by: Ira Newborn
Notes
- Kyle calls this '80 minutes of perfection,' comparing it to The Great Gatsby – the tight runtime is a major asset with the longest stretch without a joke being 62 seconds.
- Bill says this is his #1 hardest-ever theater laugh, with There's Something About Mary as 1B. He went back for a second viewing because audience laughter drowned out half the jokes.
- The OJ paradox is a major topic: OJ plays the lovable sidekick who gets brutally injured, while Reggie Jackson is the famous athlete who's the killer. Naked Gun 33 1/3 was still in theaters when the Nicole Brown Simpson murder occurred.
- The Zucker directing philosophy was telling all actors 'don't try to be funny, just act this like it's a real movie' – the hosts identify this as the secret sauce that's rarely been replicated.
- Leslie Nielsen was a 62-year-old TV journeyman (Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Kojak) getting his first leading movie star role.
- The baseball sequence uses three different ballparks: Angel Stadium exterior, Wrigley Field establishing shot, and Dodger Stadium for the actual game scenes.
Categories
Quote from Rog's review:
“The movie is as funny, let it be said, as any comedy released this year, with the exception of A Fish Called Wanda.”
Ebert called Nielsen 'the Laurence Olivier of spoofs'
- The entire baseball sequence – national anthem as Enrico Palazzo, the umpire scenes, Reggie Jackson trying to kill the Queen
- Nordberg at the docks opening scene
- Frank peeing with a live mic / Pier 32 scene
- The content holds up in a PC sense – no cheap racial or gay jokes
- The throwaway jokes (Yasser Arafat name tag, Gorbachev's birthmark)
- The baseball announcing booth predicted oversized modern broadcast panels
- OJ Simpson – the all-time 'What's Aged the Worst' candidate
- The world leader villains in the opening are unrecognizable to modern audiences
- The full-body condom safe sex joke
- The fireworks going off behind Drebin during the 'nothing to see here' scene
- The final shot of OJ/Nordberg going down the stairs
- 'I'm Into Something Good' by Herman's Hermits
- 'I Love LA' by Randy Newman
OJ Simpson being a disgraced double murderer is the obvious weak link when watching today, though he was great in the role at the time
Kyle: Naked Gun is the funniest movie of the 80s – it never stops being funny, unlike Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, or Coming to America which veer into other territory
- Bo Derek was wanted for the Jane role
- Vin Scully and Bob Costas were wanted for the baseball announcing scene but had schedule conflicts
- Ricardo Montalban's 'Don't you call me Lady' moment
- The woman in the apartment when Frank climbs the building side
Mark Holton (Chubby from Teen Wolf / Francis from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure) – the 'Hey, it's Enrico Palazzo!' guy
- OJ Simpson – 4 scenes, not many lines, but great
- Reggie Jackson as the brainwashed assassin
For Jane: Lynda Carter, Bo Derek, Jacqueline Smith, Markie Post, Raquel Welch
- Queen Elizabeth actually attended an Oakland A's vs. Baltimore Orioles game
- Three 1988 comedies featured a villain run over by a steamroller: Naked Gun, A Fish Called Wanda, Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Spy Magazine documented all scenes lifted from Get Smart, The Pink Panther, and other sources
- Leslie Nielsen – yes, went from TV journeyman to movie star at 62
- Priscilla Presley as an actress – yes
- Arbor Day – last time anyone mentioned it
Hanks did Dragnet a year later and is 'head and shoulders above' Cruise comedically
- Lead-off hitter doesn't swing at 3 strikes down the middle
- Reggie Jackson wearing a watch during a baseball game
- Angel Stadium exterior morphs into Dodger Stadium interior with a Wrigley Field establishing shot
- What happens to the Mariners/Angels game?
- What happens to Enrico Palazzo's career? Does he sue?
- What happens to Reggie Jackson – does he go to jail?
- The cufflink dart shooters
- Reggie Jackson's game-worn Angels jersey
'You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan'
- Naked Gun 2 1/2
- Platoon – watch Naked Gun, pause at the montage, watch all of Platoon, then resume at the theater scene
Leslie Nielsen – went from 40 years as a TV journeyman to major movie star, got two sequels
Craig Horlbeck loved it, called it 'right up my alley' and 'practically a TikTok as a movie' with 10 jokes per minute