The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! poster
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

What’s Aged the Best?

Straight acting; opening credits; refrigerator; timeless jokes; announcers; baseball authenticity

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:36Read transcript
  • Serious actors playing absurd situations straight are credited as the comedy’s essential technique.
  • The police-siren opening credits traverse a roller coaster, house, car wash and women’s showers.
  • The ancient food and iced-over freezer make Drebin’s refrigerator memorable.
  • The comedy largely avoids cheap racial or gay-character targets, with the opening world-leader scene acknowledged as an exception.
  • I was young, I needed the work and I faked every orgasm became reusable personal jokes.
  • The crowded booth of familiar baseball announcers anticipates excessive studio panels.
  • Drebin clinging to exaggeratedly endowed statues remains funny.
  • Nancy Marchand’s seriousness, the romantic voice-over interrupted by collision, bad driving and the final reconciliation are praised.
  • Throwaway jokes reward rewatches: Yasser’s name tag, Gorbachev’s mark, the gymnast lover, chalk outline, hospital name, beaver, Viking food, lost narration, tearaway suit, bingo, innocent condemned man, building contractor and rain check.
  • Convincing baseball action and authentic teams distinguish the finale.