Movies

Frank Drebin, Jr. uncovers all manner of criminal conduct in ESPN's studios
Featurette: Paramount Pictures

The Naked Gun (2025)
Directed by Akiva Schaffer
Rated PG-13
Shot 1 August 2025
#NakedGun

The new Naked Gun is every bit as stupid as one could hope. (And, yes, that’s a compliment.)

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

Back in the 1980s Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker perfected the art of smart spoofs heavy on stupid humor with Airplane!, the extremely limited (six-episode) TV series Police Squad! and its rebirth on the big screen as The Naked Gun trilogy. Through a barrage of puns, one-liners and sight gags, they knew if one joke didn’t land right, there’d be another coming up in just a second.

Wait for it.

But being this kind of stupid takes a whole lot of smarts. That’s what makes their productions so very special. A lot of their jokes could take a second or two to register, which is quite a smart trick for a stupid joke.

Now, thankfully, equal-opportunity comedy is finally making a comeback. It actually feels good to be offended now (O so mildly, in a PG-13 way). There are plenty of "dirty" jokes in this new Naked Gun, but there’s also a parade of winks and nudges and humor that takes a certain amount of glee in poking fun at current events and silly, overblown cultural sensitivities that are tantamount to censorship. That includes a great round of dialogue about the Black Eyed Peas and their 2003 song Let’s Get It Started, which originally sported one "R" word we are not allowed to say anymore, leading to the lyrics being adjusted in the name of political correctness.

There should’ve been a direct swipe at cancel culture — a wanted poster of a troll at a computer in a dank basement, perhaps — but that Black Eyed Peas bit comes mighty close. And, in the interest of fairness and equal opportunity, Frank’s questionable tactics raise the big question about whether or not police officers actually need to obey the laws while enforcing them.

There’s a joy to be had in this zaniness and irreverence, which is vastly different from the grating irreverence found in James Gunn’s Superman. Frank Drebin’s world is off kilter by design. Superman's, not so much.

Cast a Net

Here’s the kicker: director and co-writer Akiva Schaffer (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane (one of a full dozen producers) make some really smart choices here.

First off is casting Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin, Jr. The Oscar nominee for Schindler’s List has been spending too much time on clunky action movies for the past too many years. Much like how Airplane! and The Naked Gun revived and reinvented the careers of Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy, Peter Graves and Robert Stack, Neeson gets a sorely needed shot in the arm from this Naked Gun.

But it goes beyond the casting. In an early scene, Frank Jr. pays homage to his father, Det. Frank Drebin, Sr. (Leslie Nielsen), in a hall of fame-style setting that includes Capt. Hocken (George Kennedy) and Det. Nordberg (O.J. Simpson). Yeah, the O.J. joke is great, but so is what Frank says at his dad’s memorial: he wants to be just like his father, but different. It’s simply the perfect way to tee things up for this new Naked Gun generation.

Indeed, Neeson is much like Nielsen, but different. It’s simply fun seeing him cut loose.

A way too brief cameo by Priscilla Presley, returning as Jane Spencer, allows one to connect the dots that maybe (just maybe) she’s Frank Jr.’s mother. Jane and Frank Sr. had quite the romance, after all. Never mind the dates and timelines and ages. This isn’t Dragnet. This isn’t about "just the facts, ma’am." In an absurdist world, this lineage makes perfect sense.

And, in something that might be some sort of Hollywood record, Weird Al Yankovic continues his cameo streak that ran through each of the original three theatrical releases (1988-1994). (Be sure to stick through the end credits for yet another appearance by Weird Al.)

Plus, this one also sports winning cameos from Busta Rhymes and Dave Bautista.

Bank On It

The action starts by seemingly recreating the opening bank robbery scene from The Dark Knight. The set and some of the camera angles look mighty familiar. And Lorne Balfe’s intense music seems to mimic Hans Zimmer’s themes.

It’s all done in service to introducing one of the movie’s first sight gags, the P.L.O.T. Device. That stands for Primordial Law of Toughness and the device can send out a signal that makes people savage by seeking to fulfill their most basic instincts of survival and satisfaction.

The nefarious device was devised by Richard Cane (Danny Huston, Yellowstone), a tech bro genius who wants to save the world through the introduction of electric cars made under his Edentech brand. Think Elon Musk if you must, but the point here isn’t to skewer any one personality.

It is, though, about skewering some of the absurdities all the new technology has introduced to the world. Indeed, Frank prefers the earlier days, before all the technology that’s reshaped how we live.

And it’s part of what turns about to be a pretty good crime caper, one involving an apparent suicide, a men’s jazz club and a bizarre wrestling mash-up event held at Ponzi-Scheme.com Arena.

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now

Of course, that caper is solved in fine Drebin style as he falls for Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl), the sister of the victim at the center of the case. She’s sure her brother would never commit suicide.

Anderson is terrific and enjoying a whole new heyday now. Her wonderfully goofy jazz performance at the gentleman’s club produces some of the summer movie season’s biggest smiles. And then there’s the whole romance situation, which turns into a darkly humorous menage a trois with, of all things, a snow man.

Maybe it’s all a little too polished when compared to the charm of the shoestring budget (and mindset) of the original episodes, but it still works. And, as a bonus, as the end credits roll, the infamous Police Squad! opening credits police car footage makes a return to the big screen, along with Ira Newborn’s upbeat theme.

It is joy. How can one not smile, darn it?

Unfortunately, Jim Abrahams died last year. It’s a shame there wasn’t an acknowledgement somewhere, even a dedication in the end credits.

But, true to form, those end credits otherwise do not disappoint. Stick around and pick out all the nonsense Schaffer and his cohorts slip into the scroll.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.

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