Truth be told, "The Naked Gun" films were always a big hit with me and Leslie Nielsen suddenly became a bonafide comedic star. Irreverant, inventive, and downright silly, they never disappointed.
I didn't even know they were making a new one until I saw a billboard two weeks ago. And my first knee-jerk reaction was in the casting. I mean, could there be two names more similar than...
Liam Neeson...Leslie Nielsen...Liam Neeson...Leslie Nielsen.
Is there some development executive at Paramount who doesn't realize they are two different actors...and one has been dead for years?
That said, I applaud any attempt to bring some laughs to the local cinema, regardless of how ridiculous the films are. Does this reboot work? Not always. There are wider gaps between jokes than the originals. Neeson does his best stoic best as Frank Drebin Jr.. But, still, while the rifle is fired continually, the targets aren't always bulleyes.
The new version has a lot of no names in the cast, save for the inexplicable inclusion of Pamela Anderson. The originals really benefited from using well known cameos from the likes of Reggie Jackson and Robert Goulet, to name a thousand. There's an unexplained two second shot of Priscilla Presley, which makes about as much sense as the plot. Yes, there is a joke aimed at OJ and one about Bill Cosby made me laugh for about two minutes.
But, still...I wished there was more organic humor.
Yet, the theater audience I was with laughed a lot and there was applause at the end. Go figure.
I guess there are worse things to see at the cinema.
LEN'S RATING: Three stars.
Dinner last night: Cheese and crackers.
No comments:
Post a Comment