In 1988, I went to the cinema to see The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! at just eleven years old. I knew little about the film beforehand, and I had no idea it would become one of my most cherished cinema memories. What happened was that I experienced 85 minutes of constant laughter. The film was so funny that it didn’t allow a single moment to catch your breath between the roars of laughter. Tears were streaming down my face, and it’s one of the few times I’ve seen people actually fall out of their seats from laughing. Falling out of your seat from laughter was something I had, until then, thought only happened in cartoons — but it really did happen that time at the cinema. People literally fell off their chairs.
This was back in a time when this kind of zany comedy wasn’t very common. Zucker, Abrahams & Zucker more or less had a monopoly on this type of film, having previously made Airplane!, Top Secret!, and of course the TV series Police Squad, which The Naked Gun films were based on.
Now, 33 years after Frank Drebin first made his entrance via Police Squad, here comes Frank Drebin again. Well — his son, at least, who is also named Frank Drebin and also works for Police Squad.
He’s essentially the same person as his father. Even the actor Liam Neeson has a name strikingly similar to his predecessor, Leslie Nielsen. And so, The Naked Gun saga can continue. The secret behind Leslie Nielsen’s comedy was his ability to play completely deadpan — no matter how ridiculous the scene or his lines were. That’s what made it funny. Liam Neeson is the same type — he also plays it completely straight, even though what comes out of his mouth is hopelessly idiotic. That makes it funny. Like Leslie Nielsen, Liam Neeson wasn’t known for comedy before becoming Frank Drebin.
Liam Neeson’s co-star is former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, now 58. She performs surprisingly well in the film, and it’s refreshing to see her these days with a normal hairstyle — not the bizarre He-Man haircut she’s been sporting in recent years. Apparently, Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson have also become a couple in real life. Anderson has been through quite a long list of awful men before — she was, among other things, married to the always awful Kid Rock and poker player Rick Salomon, who is best known for making the sex tape with Paris Hilton. Even though Liam Neeson is now over 73, he’s certainly a better choice than either of them.
Back to the film itself. It’s naturally not made by Zucker, Abrahams & Zucker. Jim Abrahams actually passed away last year. This one is directed by Akiva Schaffer — a solid choice for the director’s chair. He previously made Hot Rod and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, both top-tier comedies. So we’ve got a guy who knows how to work the laugh muscles.
The Naked Gun is packed with jokes, so it’s definitely a film that can — and should — be watched more than once. You’ll almost need to, just to catch them all. Many jokes are good enough to become classics. Plenty are downright hilarious.
But did anyone fall out of their seats in the cinema, like that time in 1988? Unfortunately, no. Even though The Naked Gun (2025) is very funny, it doesn’t quite surpass the original from 1988. But that’s a tall order. After all, people don’t fall off their chairs laughing all that often.
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