Comedy Pick: The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad! (1988)
How the heck is The Naked Gun 26 years old? I say this because it feels as though in the current cinematic climate, the industry is churning out movies that become too easily dated. Timestamped by gags reliant on a knowledge of current popular culture, comedies watched sometimes a year following their release mean bugger all and incite zero chuckles if you’re not in possession of a Tweet Deck, an iPhone and an inability to interact with humans (I.e. you’re hip to current pop culture thangs.)
From the creative trifecta of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, The Naked Gun is STILL hilarious as hell. The trio’s collaborations would go on to provide the blueprint for spoofs, which would try (Scary Movie) but never better them. After all, this is the trio who’d brought comedy to hitherto unseen realms with Airplane! and Top Secret.
Based on their short-lived TV series, Police Squad!, the flick is based around sight gags, slapstick shtick and brilliant word play. The plot is merely a mechanism on which to hoist the inane set-ups Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) has to ensure, which haven’t lost any of their wit to this day. With his partner convalescing in hospital after a drugs bust, it’s up to Drebin to solve the mystery, which deviates into a bizarre sub-plot involving a royal visit from Queen Elizabeth II.
A short connecting scene when Drebin pulls up to the police HQ turns into an action sequence after he fails to put the brake on his car. It turns it into a runaway vehicle with expelled air bags, charging after innocent bystanders, including Drebin himself. It’s a classic example of how to execute successful slapstick – and just one moment in this 90-minute comedy gem that puts its imitators to shame.