द नेकेड गन 2 1/2: द स्मेल ऑफ़ फियर

In my opinion, this movie's almost as funny as the first "Naked Gun." It also contains a good deal of belly laughs. My favorite gag is the one in which Leslie Nielsen tries to climb over the roof with a grappling hook and accidentally catches onto the collar of a Doberman. Everything that made the first movie work made this one work as well. I have no complaints. Even Robert Goulet delivers a good performance as the villain. I'm always suspicious of musicians, since most of them do turn out to be horrendous actors, but not in this case. If you enjoyed the original, you'll enjoy the sequel! Unfortunately, it's hard to find comedies this funny nowadays.

David Zucker, the director of this spoof, shows he can give the viewer a fun time because the way he gave the right touch to this funny movie. "The Naked Gun 2-1/2" is a film which makes fun of other movies about an inept police detective who does everything wrong, but in doing so, he gives us an occasion for laughter that in most of the situations work.

Of course, one wouldn't imagine anyone playing this Lt. Frank Drebin, but Leslie Nielsen. This actor with the rubber face, is a natural for this type of comedy. The opening sequence with the White House dinner with the older Bushies is a hoot. Poor Barbara Bush is the butt of all the visual jokes as she is seated next to Drebin. But the best moment in the film is the rendition of "Besame Mucho" by Mr. Nielsen and George Kennedy dressed in mariachi costumes. It is a riot!

The leading lady, Priscilla Presley, seems to be the perfect match for Mr. Nielsen. They play well together. The others in the film, George Kennedy, Robert Goulet, Richard Griffiths, and the rest, do an excellent job in their clowning around to produce the laughter and good time we experience.

This is a film to recommend to anyone suffering depression.

When it comes to comedy, the original Naked Gun is a classic. This sequel may not quite be up to par, it is too short for my tastes and one or two of the gags come so fast you are in danger of missing them, such as the items on the hostess's tray,in the blues' cafe but it is very funny and enjoyable.

The production values are crisp as usual, with good photography and editing and striking location work. The dialogue is dumb, but in a good way, this is not the dumb humour where it is so stupid you forget to laugh, this is the dumb humour that is silly but still makes you smile and laugh.

The story is quickly paced and never fails to interest me, while the gags on the whole are superbly timed and there are lots of them. My personal favourites are the wonderful send-up of the pottery scene from Ghost and the headline proclaiming that Elvis is alive and well, also the beginning sets the tone of the film very well. With most of the original cast returning and some new faces along the way, the cast are a delight, and the characters are fun. Leslie Nielson once again gives an inspired performance, and Priscilla Presley and George Kennedy give nice support. Also strong are Robert Goulet(as the villain) and Lloyd Bochner, and seeing Richard Griffiths was fun too.

All in all, very enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

2 years ago, Jane(Presley) dumped hard-ass cop Frank(Nielsen; so where the first one had fun with them falling for each other, this does the same with them reconnecting, such as the classic, dramatic scene(from every movie of this kind ever made) where they dance sensually together as allegations fly back and forth... only here, they do some of the most hysterical steps you can think of), and her new beau, Quentin(Goulet, great new blood... he has this signature of furrowing his brow, usually in response to yet another of Drebin's terrible attempts at a comeback insult) may be involved in a plot to prevent the expert on energy, Meinheimer(Griffiths), a man of integrity, from giving a speech that president Bush(H. W., not Dubya) has promised to stick to. The theme is environmentalism, so this is surprisingly... and sadly... not dated. This is again a spoof of action/crime thrillers with tough police officers, and it fits in numerous clichés from such. There are gags and jokes that return, or get "callbacks", and the style and feel is the same, but the material is largely new. The main cast all return in this almost-as-good-as-the-first sequel, and they're ready for more. We have silliness, slapstick, plays on words, taking sayings too literally, etc., and good use is made of having only one element be "off" and everything around that reacting naturally to it, telegraphing the punchline and even surprisingly long, at one point, between a setup(that you didn't think to be one) and payoff. Not quite breaking 80 minutes(unless you count the end credits), this doesn't overstay its welcome. And like the original, it makes you care, and you want to see our heroes win and the villains lose. There is a bit of pretty direct(if no on-screen nudity of actual humans, only... erotic toys) sexual content and a little moderate to strong language in this. I recommend this to any fan of the genre it's referencing, and parody films in general. 7/10

Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker learned something from 1982. Their sequel to Airplane!, their smash hit, was named Airplane 2: The Sequel, but to their sequel to The Naked Gun was something that would be copied forever: Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear. From now on, sequels never were just had `2' after it, it's always `2 ½' or `2.33'. And, thankfully, the title's shorter.

Leslie Nielsen's hilarious character of Frank Drebin is back for more adventures. He and his girlfriend Jane (Priscilla Presley) have broken up; he hasn't gotten over it, while she's going out with Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet). What she doesn't know is that Hapsburg is in a conspiracy to avoid solar energy by doing a whole kidnapping scheme. It's up to Drebin, Nordberg (O.J. Simpson), and Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) to save the day!

Amazingly enough, many of the jokes from the first one (which I admit I don't remember much about) weren't repeated in this sequel. It would be hard to repeat much of those jokes, which would be impossible to change in any ways. Therefore, most of the jokes were fresh and hilarious. It did take a little while to get started, though, for there was about a fifteen minute stretch where there were no laughs, it was just for exposition, which I guess was OK, but I wanted more humor to start off with.

Nielsen was perfect for the part. I'm glad that he hasn't `sold out' like other comedians and gone on to dramatic roles. He delivers his lines almost like he didn't know he was in a comedy, which is always funnier than any other types. Many times, he misunderstands what is said, and other times he says something that you wouldn't expect him to say in 100 years. One of the funniest sequences in the film is a parody of Bond-ish films, when Drebin and someone else are fighting in a bathroom, and seem to be having trouble fighting when a towel is thrown on their heads, etc.

For once, a film has a formidable sequel. Amazingly enough, it's a film that's just as funny as the first.

My rating: 8/10

Rated PG-13 for sexual humor.