REVIEW. THE NAKED GUN: A Chip Off the Old Blockhead.

No AI was used in the making of this poster. (Liam Neesom and Pamela Anderson pictured.)

What is a distinguished, Oscar-nominated actor like Liam Neesom doing in a comedy spoof like this? Surely, he must have had other options. In a movie where the opening sequence zooms in on a sinister-looking hand-held gizmo marked, "P.L.O.T. Device," you're know you're not looking at the kind of nuance and historical depth of say, Schindler's List, or even the international intrigue that runs through Taken (Neesom's previous action film franchise).

So what drew him to this kind of goofiness? Let's dig into the results a bit deeper, and I promise not to call him "surely." Or is it Shirley? You choose. (Wink, wink.)

Okay.

I've had more than a few people these past few days giving me the side-eye when I mentioned I was planning to see The Naked Gun, the latest reboot from the wise-cracking team of the Zucker Brothers (Jerry & David), Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft. Truth is, I wanted to do something different for my husband's birthday, and I figured 85 minutes of silliness might distract him from the stress of counting birthday candles.

Like its predecessors, the TV series Police Squad! (1982) and the subsequent, successful Naked Gun trilogy (1988-1994), starring Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley (included here in a very brief cameo), this summer's reboot features non-stop puns, dick jokes, sight gags, slapstick, more dick jokes, car chases, owl attacks, ongoing dick jokes, and general weirdness. Did I mention lots of dick jokes?

Given the overall goofiness of the format and the presumed lack of any social or cinematic value, I couldn't help but wonder how I might craft a review of this latest iteration of clueless police detective Lt. Frank Drebin, Jr. (Neeson), son of Police Squad's original fuck-up, Lt. Frank Drebin, Sr. (Nielsen). This isn't the kind of movie I typically spent money (or time) on, even though I'll admit I've seen the original movie, and the recent trailer had me chuckling.

But besides their initials, what else did Neeson and Nielsen have in common? After all, Neeson isn't exactly known for his comedic chops. Except for one really awful 1988 comedy, Satisfaction, known mostly as Julia Roberts first credited screen role, Neeson has established an impressive forty-year acting career consisting mostly of heroes (Oskar Schindler, Jedi Master Que-Gon Jinn), anti-heroes (Darkman), and crusaders (Rob Roy, Bryan Mills in the Taken series).

Ditto co-star Pamela Anderson, long dismissed as another Baywatch babe in a bathing suit who, last year, stunned critics and audiences with a beautifully subtle performance in The Last Showgirl, a role that came thisclose to nabbing her an Oscar nomination. The Naked Gun is her follow-up film? Are we back to the bimbo, or is there something more here?

Here we have two mature (I'll refrain from saying "old" or "past their prime") actors doing what appears to be a one-eighty in terms of their theatrical skill set. Are they up for the slapstick challenge? I told you there'd be more penis jokes than Book of Mormon.

May I speak freely?

Or would you prefer English?

The Naked Gun is unlikely to receive any major awards, save perhaps a "Razzie" (given to the year's worst movies), but it definitely delivers as a comedic send-up filled with pure foolishness, and (mostly) harmless fun. Despite a completely absurd plot - devious corporate billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston) plans to create a super race by using AI to destroy the "weak" - the action and the jokes are consistent and non-stop. Blink and you might miss a pratfall or pun, laugh too loud and you'll probably drop a punchline.

Neeson and Anderson, as unlikely a screwball pair as one might imagine, work well together here: their comedic timing is flawless, their chemistry surprisingly genuine (social media has been hot with the prospect of these two being a real-life couple, and neither has denied such a relationship isn't happening). Neeson's hapless Frank, Jr. isn't as obviously dumb as his father. His facial expressions belie a quieter kind of unwitting ignorance, which makes the resulting chaos around him funnier and all the more effective. A long-running gag about Frank Jr.'s insatiable need for coffee gets weirder and more extreme with each Starbucks cup.

Anderson, running the gamet from sly femme fatale to sexy scat singer (Anderson can vocally improvise), seems to embrace fully the opportunity to tear apart any notion that she's merely eye candy or, in this case, Cherry Roosevelt Spaghetti (Frank's impromptu pseudonym to cover her real identity). Her character, Beth Davenport, is determined to avenge her brother's recent death, which is (obviously) tied to Cane's plot to rule the world.

There's nothing particularly revolutionary about the movie in terms of inventive sight gags, unusual plot lines, or interesting characters. It's pretty much a conventional stable of good guys, bad seeds and female diversions. Stereotypes abound and there's no attempt to be politically correct. Everyone and everything is fair game and a potential target for skewering. Too, there are several references to the original series cast, props, and plotlines. I'm not sure that younger viewers (if this even appeals to them) would even recognize George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalbán, or O.J. Simpson (prominent in the early series), let alone find some of the older joke throwbacks funny.

Two extended scenes, one with Cane's henchman Sig Gustafson (Kevin Durand) spying on Frank, Jr. and Beth using x-ray binoculars and another love montage between Frank Jr., Beth and an animatead snowman are fairly predictable, but surprising hilarious. The first one is filled with obvious penis jokes, supposed blow jobs and other implicit sexual deviations involving, among other things, a dog and a hose.

The love montage is kind of a throwback to 1970's Love Story, here played against Starship's "Nothing's Gonna a Stop Us Now," that includes a hot tub and lots of snowy frolicking... and tongues firmly planted in cheeks (or somewhere). You have to see it to appreciate it, but again, Neeson and Anderson are definitely up to the task of this level of silliness. Played against Neeson's usual gravitas and Anderson's smoldering sexuality, it's fun to see two pros trying something new and enjoying it.

As a birthday diversion, The Naked Gun proved successful. My husband, who had never seen any of the original movies or the TV series, laughed through the whole show. This behavior might seem surprising coming from a retired English professor (who specialized in Shakespeare), but I've never known him to let a good malapropism, solecism or double entendre escape without a reaction. If you can suspend any sense of disbelief, you just might find youself giggling, chuckling or even guffawing along with the action.

Don't forget to stay through the credits, when every possible cinematic device, from stop action to breaking the fourth wall, is broken. Besides, can you imagine a world in which the featured artist at an apocalyptic concert would be Weird Al Yankovic? Pause for reaction.

In its own scatterbrained way,The Naked Gun contains all the elements director Robert Altman said were necessary for an American movie to be successful: love, sex, humor, violence, action and, above all, a happy ending. All of these... and lots of dick jokes.

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The Naked Gun is now playing in theaters. The original trilogy can be streamed on Paramount+.