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

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

year 1988decade 80sdirector David Zucker

85 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Leslie Nielsen Lt. Frank Drebin
George Kennedy Capt. Ed Hocken
Priscilla Presley Jane Spencer
Ricardo Montalban Vincent Ludwig
O.J. Simpson Nordberg
Dick Vitale Baseball Announcer
Lawrence Tierney Angel Manager
Rick Seaman Ya dumb broad!
Nicholas Worth Thug #1
Raye Birk Pahpshmir
Susan Beaubian Mrs. Wilma Nordberg
Jeannette Charles Queen Elizabeth II
Ed Williams Ted Olsen
Winifred Freedman Stephanie
Joe Grifasi Pier32 Dockman
Tony Brafa Enrico Pallazzo
Reggie Jackson Angels Right Fielder
Curt Gowdy Commentator
Jim Palmer Commentator
Tim McCarver Commentator
Mel Allen Commentator
Dick Enberg Commentator
Joyce Brothers Herself
John Houseman Driving teacher

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Kyle Brandtproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Apex Mountain

Zucker team; Arbor Day; Priscilla Presley as an actress; villain toupees

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:16Read transcript
  • The film is considered the Zucker team’s pinnacle among Top Secret, Ruthless People and later spoof work.
  • Nielsen is proposed here but a later peak with the more profitable second film and ensuing roles is argued.
  • Arbor Day is affirmed.
  • Simpson is rejected.
  • Umpiring may be at its apex because the umpire names were familiar; De Niro behind the plate in The Fan is called a terrible scene.
  • Kennedy and Jackson are rejected, with Jackson’s three-homer World Series game cited.
  • Montalban is rejected.
  • The California Angels are tentatively affirmed over the1986near-miss, specifically under the California name.
  • Presley is affirmed specifically as an actress.
  • Villain toupees are affirmed, prompting a Steve Sanders’s father hairpiece tangent.

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.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Baseball finale, especially the anthem

In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:56Read transcript
  • Nordberg’s dock mishaps escalate through gunshots, head impact, burns, wet paint, a trapped hand, cake and a bear trap; the physical comedy is praised.
  • The hospital visit combines the collapsing bed, grotesque ways to die, giant mucus gag and an immediate meal break after promising tireless justice.
  • The live-microphone bathroom scene is favored for escalating pauses, renewed urination and the final fart; Austin Powers’s similar gag is compared but credited as later.
  • The Pier32 bribe negotiation recycles a Police Squad routine by passing the same20dollars back and forth.
  • The runaway parked car and shooting at it introduce the gadget-lab visit.
  • The anti-graffiti wall, Swiss Army shoe and tranquilizer cufflink demonstration on Ed form the gadget sequence.
  • The giant Al is only shown from the shoulders down; the use your other eye gag keeps the jokes coming.
  • The evil-doctor chase commandeers Stephanie’s driving lesson and features distinguished instructor Houseman.
  • The nothing-to-see-here fireworks disaster remains a widely usable reaction meme.
  • The falling-in-love montage moves through beach, food, tattoos, mustard and rides, culminating in laughter after Platoon and the reveal they met yesterday.
  • The anthem impersonation cuts to the real Palazzo bound in his underwear.
  • Baseball bloopers feature a struck infielder, tiger and detached head; the queen passes concessions and endures crude spectators.
  • Drebin’s umpiring escalates from unsure strike calls to crowd-pleasing theatrics, cheating checks and the rundown.
  • Jackson’s sudden assassin role supplies the I must kill the queen refrain.
  • The spectator identifying the hero as Enrico Palazzo is praised as an unnecessary extra joke that earns a huge laugh.
  • The obvious Jane mannequin and Ludwig’s car, steamroller and marching-band death provide additional climactic gags.
  • The baseball finale is the agreed winner, especially the anthem; real Mariners and Angels identities make it stronger.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Simpson; dated world-leader references; safe-sex gag; Presley’s career

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:41Read transcript
  • Simpson’s later murders dominate the aging-worst discussion; the third film’s proximity to the1994killings makes the comic role difficult to separate from real life.
  • The opening world-leader caricatures depend on once-familiar news faces that younger audiences may not recognize.
  • The full-body safe-sex condom gag is disliked even in its original context.
  • Presley’s limited later career disappoints one view of her potential; another questions whether the role demonstrated transferable acting ability, while defending her hurt reaction to the garter belt.

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

The Naked Gun

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:31Read transcript
  • The existing title is liked despite uncertain meaning; avoiding confusion with Police Academy reportedly motivated the change from Police Squad.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Nielsen should have been a bigger star; funniest1980s movie

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:10Read transcript
  • Nielsen should have become a bigger star; his disturbing dramatic work in Nuts and Prom Night is contrasted with his later comic persona.
  • The Naked Gun is argued to be the funniest1980s film because it never diverts from jokes; Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Coming to America and Vacation are compared without a formal ranking.

Just One Oscar

Writers

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:22Read transcript
  • The writers receive the hypothetical Oscar for joke density.