L'agent fait la farce

Comedy movies seem to be nearing extinction. And this type of stoopid-funny humor has been nonexistent. Long gone are the days of the Austin Powers', Zoolander's, Kung Pow's, and Scary Movie's. Until now.

The Naked Gun is extremely stoopid in the best way possible. There are so many times I was shaking my head at the absurdity of what I was watching. It's cleverly random and strategically obnoxious.

I laughed out loud too many times to count. I would estimate an 85% hit rate for me. Combine that with the nonstop quick rate of comedic attempts, maybe 5-10 per minute. It was a good time.

It has an awesome musical score by beast composter Lorne Balfe, and some well-shot action scenes that feel cinematic. These things are completely unnecessary for this type of comedy movie. But it made the experience that much better.

If you're a fan of stoopid-funny, definitely check this out.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday 7/31/2025)

The Naked Gun (2025) is easily my third favorite Naked Gun movie. I've been a big fan of the first two films for a long time. I even own the Police Squad TV series, so I was a little worried when they announced they would be rebooting the franchise. Especially since comedy sequels are usually terrible. However, this movie nails the tone set by its predecessors. It doesn't rely on shock humor (although there is one scene I'd skip over next time). The jokes are clever, and this movie comes fully loaded with them. We all miss Leslie Nielsen, but Liam Neeson does a great job stepping into his shoes.

Shame on all of us for presiding over the death of the studio comedy. Comedy movies, as of late, have existed only on streaming platforms. Not only that, but you could probably count on one hand how many "streaming comedies" were hits. Call it a lack of effort or call it greed, but it's been a decade since a studio comedy like this has come to a movie theater.

The Naked Gun 2025 is the very thing that was missing all along. We need funny movies. We need to laugh more. Laughter is a salvation. This film has lots of laughs. Though it is a Seth MacFarlane/Lonely Island collaboration, you wouldn't know it was one without prior knowledge. This is a Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker comedy to a fault. I really felt like I was watching one of their films. The non-stop puns and sight gags fly as ferociously as they did in the original trilogy. Liam Neeson is the absolute perfect successor to Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin. Pamela Anderson is spectacularly funny. Everything works. Really, hats off to everyone involved for taking the risk of bringing back this franchise for a generation that, largely, didn't grow up with these films.

When I first heard about a remake of The Naked Gun, I honestly doubted it could capture the magic of the original trilogy from the '80s. Back then, the sheer silliness of the humor combined with the cheesy, over-the-top police story was a perfect match for its time. That unique charm belonged to its era, and I couldn't imagine any modern film recreating it.

The only way this remake could work, I thought, was if it embraced the same absurd humor while updating the world and story for a contemporary audience - something that could stand on its own, yet still respect the originals.

Now, having seen it, I can say that The Naked Gun (2025) is indeed a worthy remake/sequel to the original trilogy. The standout element is Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. He nails the comedic style of Leslie Nielsen without simply imitating him, bringing his own flavor to the role. Around 95% of the film's funniest moments come from him. While both Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson are excellent casting choices, the rest of the cast unfortunately adds little to the story. In the old films, side characters were introduced with memorable flair; here, many feel misplaced. This is especially true of Ed, Frank's partner, who comes across as far too ordinary, and the villain, who is entirely forgettable.

The first 20 minutes are by far the highlight - packed with sharp, ridiculous gags that made me think the film could rival the originals. But after that, the joke density drops noticeably, and many of the later gags feel more forced. There are still funny moments scattered throughout the middle, but they rarely match the comedic energy of the opening.

Unfortunately, the ending doesn't land as well as it should. It feels abrupt, the jokes lose steam, and there's a sense that something is missing. Of course, the plot in a movie like this is never the main focus - but the story here still comes across like a formulaic Netflix production, in visual style also. This is where the originals still have the edge: they had more charm, more creativity, and a stronger sense of personality.

All in all, the filmmakers clearly understand the humor of the old movies. While the 2025 remake doesn't quite reach its full potential, it succeeds often enough to make me hope we'll see more films like this - perhaps even a sequel.

I got just about what I expected-but I was hoping for a miracle. And a miracle could have happened if they had stayed true to the spirit of the original films. The originals are a parody of classic noir/detective cinema, with Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin doing absurd things with a completely straight face-just like Peter Sellers did a few years earlier in The Pink Panther.

Even though everything around them is parodic (as are their actions), they themselves remain serious characters and see themselves that way. In this film, though, they let that go. They threw in a bunch of anarchic humor and unintelligent stunts-clearly, in my view, aiming to attract a younger audience.

And that audience seemed to enjoy the film quite a bit. We older fans, on the other hand, swallowed the lump in our throats and took some comfort in the solid performances of our beloved aging stars, consoling ourselves that it turned out relatively well.