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THE NAKED GUN – Lorne Balfe
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Sassafras Chicken in D. Make it extra lumpy, boys.
As much as I enjoy witty repartee and sophisticated but humorous observations about the human condition, there is something enormously satisfying about a comedy that is unashamedly, gleefully stupid. My favorite out-and-out comedy of this type is Airplane! from 1980, which was written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, and my second favorite comedy of all time of this type is The Naked Gun from 1988, which ZAZ co-wrote with Pat Proft. The Naked Gun was itself a spinoff of the short-lived comedy TV series Police Squad, which aired on ABC for one season in 1982, and starred Leslie Nielsen as the inept LAPD detective Lt. Frank Drebin. Over the course of the show and the three subsequent films he investigates various murders, robberies, and extortion rackets – all of which are framing devices on which to hang all manner of goofy one-liners, ridiculous sight gags, and hilarious pratfalls, all centered around Nielsen’s unique brand of comedy. Read more…
THE NAKED GUN 2½: THE SMELL OF FEAR – Ira Newborn
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
A sequel to the hilarious 1988 original, which was itself a spin-off of the brilliant but short-lived comedy TV show Police Squad, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear sees Leslie Nielsen returning to one of his all-time great roles as the inept LAPD detective Frank Drebin. The plot – which involves a group of crooked energy executives kidnapping an eminent professor and replacing him with an evil lookalike who will recommend to President George HW Bush that he continue with a fossil fuel-based energy plan – is simply a flimsy framing device on which to hang all manner of goofy one-liners, ridiculous sight gags, and hilarious pratfalls, all centered around Nielsen’s unique brand of comedy. He is ably supported by Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson returning from the first film, as well as Robert Goulet and Richard Griffiths in new roles. These movies, as well as previous Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker productions like Airplane, are some of my all-time favorite comedies. Read more…
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF – Ira Newborn
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
If you ask anyone who grew up in the 1980s to name the sausage king of Chicago, chances are they will immediately reply Abe Froman, such is the enduring legacy of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. A raucous comedy written and directed by John Hughes – hot off the success of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science – the film stars Matthew Broderick as the eponymous hero, a smart-mouthed high school slacker who fakes an illness to take a day off school; after convincing his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) and his uptight best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) to join him, they take Cameron’s father’s beloved Ferrari into Chicago for a day of mischief. However, high school teacher Mr. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) is wise to Ferris’s antics, and is determined to put a stop to his delinquency once and for all. The film was an enormous critical and popular success, raking in millions of dollars at the box office over the summer of 1986, and making a star of its charismatic young leading man, while many of the film’s scenes and catchphrases became cultural touchstones for American kids. Personally, however, I have never been a huge fan of the film; I always found Ferris and his antics to be annoyingly egotistical, completely oblivious to the genuine protestations of his friends regarding his behavior, although I do find some of the set-pieces and one liners to be pretty amusing. Read more…
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