Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver Hollywood ?

It's rare for a cop movie to combine elements from "The Untouchables", "Thelma & Louise" and "The Brady Bunch".

Unless, of course, the lead character has a tendency to run his car into parking meters.

"The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" brings the lofty trilogy to a close with the same old cast (Kennedy, Simpson, Presley) and slapstick antics involving a prison breakout, terrorist plot and the Oscars. And there in the center is Lt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen) on the verge of retirement and fighting with bad guys, shopping carts and Weird Al Yankovic while trying convince lovely wife Jane (Presley) that the spark in their relationship is still there.

How can you talk down a movie like this; it's as useless as putting up a tent in a windstorm, so they say. You have to enjoy stupidity, one-liners, gags and visual puns, as created by the ZAZ boys (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) and delivered by a cast of pros (including Fred Ward and Pia Zadora!!), all with the tone of adolescence and insanity you've come to know and love.

And if you don't, why are you reading this?

Kudos go to Anna Nicole Smith, who makes her debut in movies here in a big way (sorry) and shows she is at her best when laughing at herself. Good job, Anna.

Favorite scene? I lost count after the first 10 minutes; it's an exercise in futility, every scene will make you chuckle, laugh, guffaw, roar and/or howl with delight. Besides, why spoil the fun?

And as for Nielsen...as always, he is THE MAN! Even when throwing up in a tuba.

Ten stars for a great "Final" trip down into Dumbville. And one star more for the very last scene - classic!

Thanks, Frank.

The law of diminishing returns really starts to kick in with The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. It's definitely got the lowest gag ratio of the three films but there's still enough here to warrant the return. The shorter run time really helps with the lower gag ratio and the jokes that do land still have that same gleeful stupidity.

Leslie Nielsen's gifts are needed more than ever before. Even if the film around him is faltering he never is as he really carries this. Frank briefly becoming the stay at home wife then going undercover gives him plenty of new material to work with and the reaction shots of Nielsen looking baffled will never get old.

Peter Segal's direction doesn't falter straight away as it opens with the funniest opening of the three and the strongest credits sequence. For better and worse, this one's humour feels broader compared to the others as it adds a lot of references to other films in between the slapstick and visual gags. There's still a lot of memorable stuff here, it just luls occasionally.

I thought this one was almost as good as the first film and a bit better than the second one. I liked the whole infiltration of the prison plot and the retirement aspect of the film more than all the politics of the second film. However, Leslie plays Drebin in a bit more of a goofy fashion this go around. There are also other things in this film that were not really in the first two installments like the scenes that parodied other movies. Scenes like these were not in the first two movies, from what I remember anyway, but there are a couple of them in this one. Such as the opening which parodies "The Untouchables" and a "Thelma and Louise" one as well. However, the film has a nice conclusion at the academy awards which makes fun of Hollywood's biggest night in grand fashion. The plot has Frank retired, but he is coaxed out of retirement to break into a prison and find out a sinister plot. The villain this time is Fred Ward and he is good as is his gang. There are some surprises here and there too. I just thought this one was a bit more humorous than two, but not quite on par with the first one. Close, but not quite.

So, here we are then, with the third part of the very silly 'Naked Gun' series. For some reason, David Zucker isn't in the director's chair this time; and his replacement is the man who would go on to direct the 2004 disappointment '50 First Dates' a decade later; Peter Segal. This doesn't matter, though, because Zucker still shares a writing credit, and the series always belonged to Leslie Nielson anyway. Still, this third part isn't as good as the first two, by quite a margin. The story is less expansive this round, and the film is also a lot shorter (probably a comment on the fact that the writers were running out of ideas...), but it still has it's moments that are really funny. As usual, quite a few of the jokes don't work, but there's usually one that does just around the corner after a failed one. One sequence in particular involving Frank Drebin in a dance number is one such moment.

The thin plot is mostly a parody on the crime classic 'White Heat', and it involves Frank Drebin going undercover in jail and eventually having to try and thwart an act of terrorism. Naturally, this is just a springboard for lots and lots of gags, but that's no bad thing. Leslie Nielson approaches the role with the usual gusto, and does well with it again. Leslie Nielson's comedy works because he looks so ridiculous, and he can just stand around doing nothing and make you laugh. The Naked Gun series is a good waste of time if all you want is a laugh and this second sequel delivers on that front too, although not in quite as good a way as the first two did. Still, there's a lot worse comedies around.

Maybe I'm looking at this movie from a somewhat biased viewpoint, because out of all 3 "Naked Gun" films, this is the one I've seen the most times. So when I just purchased it on DVD, as part of the "Naked Gun" gift set, the gags weren't as fresh to me. I watched it several times when it appeared on ABC, and since the movie doesn't contain any foul language or overt sexual gags, very little was snipped from the TV version. Needless to say, the reason why this sequel doesn't work as well is because of the absence of David Zucker as director. This time Peter Segal occupies the director's chair. Segal definitely has talent. He's the same director who brought us "Tommy Boy," "My Fellow Americans" and the hilarious "Anger Management." But his approach to humor isn't the same as Zucker's. Zucker is better at handling slapstick, while Segal is better at scatological comedy. Though the same writers contributed to this third installment, Segal's a little rusty with the timing and delivery of these gags. And in farce, timing is everything. In the other two films, I found all the gags either funny or hilarious. If I didn't get a belly laugh, I was probably chuckling at least. "The Naked Gun 33 1/3" contains some gags that simply don't work and settle for flat payoffs. But on a positive note, most of the gags do work and the cast still gives their all. It's a shame that O.J. Simpson got involved in murder. He could've made a fine comic actor. I don't exactly visualize him as a leading man, but he would do well in quirky supporting roles like these. Another good thing about the film is Anna-Nicole Smith, who at the time looked absolutely stunning! And though I didn't receive as many belly laughs as I thought, there are a few, like the conclusion at the Oscar ceremony. The sperm bank scene is also hilarious. Unfortunately, the joke is worn out for me, now that I've seen the movie about 5 times. If you're in the mood for a good comedy (though not a great one), "The Naked Gun 33 1/3" delivers. But don't go in expecting too much.