Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

Retirement has not been good for Frank Drebin. His marriage is on the rocks and he feels emasculated as he no longer has the power of the law or the ability to shot bad guys. When he is offered the chance to help out with some undercover work, Frank jumps at the chance – even though Jane storms out. When the info Frank finds points to imprisoned bomb expert Rocco Dillon he agrees to go into the jail and infiltrate his gang in order to find out his plan.

Despite the fact that the second part was a little bit of a dip from part 1, Debin was brought back for a final insult and managed to produce a very enjoyable conclusion to the series. Opening with one of the best moments from all three films (a hilarious expansion of The Untouchable train station scene) the film keeps up a very consistent tone that has plenty of big laughs as well as lots of little things that will keep you chuckling. Its not that the film has no misses (it does) but they are covered by the sheer weight of hits that it includes. The plot is fairly simple but is well done to include a few basic set ups – the prison, the break out and the Oscars; each part is very funny if you're in the mood for it and, hey, even if you're not it is pretty infectious.

The writing is good – it is easy to forget how hard it is to write a good spoof, but recent attempts have shown had easy it is to misjudge the film and just be silly rather than funny. Another big part of the film working is yet another great performance from Leslie Neilsen, who makes it all look so easy! Ward is a great addition to the cast and is much better than the bad guy from the second film – Ward plays it gruff and straight, making it all the funnier. Presley is so-so, with her character kind of shoe-horned into the film to her detriment, but she does have some good moments. Freeman is good value and Smith, well, Smith has a good body and that's about it – but fair play to her for sending herself up like that, it's not like she needed the money after all.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable film as long as you are in the mood. Even if you aren't roaring with laughter you'll still be chuckling along. The material is hardly the height of wit or intelligence and some viewers may find it to be all a bit broad but fans of the genre will love it and get plenty of laughs from the material and the mostly good performances.