This movie is like swimming in raw sewage – I love it!

When “The Naked Gun” hit big, a sequel was all but inevitable and three years later, Leslie Nielsen picked up Frank Drebin’s badge and gun once again for “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell Of Fear”. With Jerry Zucker off directing “Ghost”, David Zuker took sole directing duties, writing the script with Pat Proft, both of them raiding the short-lived “Naked Gun” TV series for gags galore.

“The Smell Of Fear” sees the redoubtable Lt Frank Drebin, fresh from being honoured for his 1,000th drug dealer kill become embroiled in a plot by a megalomaniacal industrialist to subvert the US Energy policy of President George Bush (played by John Roarke looking more like old-age-makeup George McFly from “Back To The Future” than the 41st President Of The United States) by replacing the esteemed Doctor Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths) with a doppelganger and ensure a continued dependence on the existing energy cartels. Adding to Drebin’s troubles is the fact that Dr Meinheimer’s assistant is none other than his old flame Jane (Priscilla Presley).

In addition to Presley’s return, the rest of the gang are back too. George Kennedy takes time out from playing the villainous Carter McKay in “Dallas” to reprise Drebin’s long-suffering sidekick Ed, not-yet-murderer O J Simpson returns as Nordberg along with the undervalued Ed Williams as Police Squad’s Head Lab Technician Ted. Nielsen, of course, steals the show and whether he’s delivering brand new material or recreating jokes from the TV show or callbacks to the first film, he makes the comedy sing and helps his castmates to raise their comic game.

Like its predecessor, it expertly skewers the hard-boiled police procedural, finding the genre’s weak spots and deftly sliding in a comedic stiletto with gleeful ruthlessness. The jokes come thick and fast and although the hit to miss ratio is a bit higher this time, there’s no denying that when it gets it right, it’s every bit as funny as its predecessor, just not quite as consistently. The guest stars are good fun to, with Robert Goulet clearly enjoying himself as Drebin’s antagonist and rival for the love of Jane.

A good sequel to a great movie and still streets ahead of the other parody movies which continued to follow on its coattails.

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear Review
Leslie Nielsen Rating 07


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Bad Moms (2016) Review

Bad Moms (2016) Review

I find myself in feminist mood after watching Bad Moms. Finally, a bawdy comedy for women, breaking that final glass ceiling and proving that arrested development and irresponsible self-indulgence isn’t just for men anymore, “Bad Moms” is slow to find its footing but eventually settles...

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Review

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Review

Some "fans" may have raised objection to She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, but I'll allow it She-Hulk: Attorney at Law strides into the Marvel Cinematic Universe court of opinion to serve a writ of courtroom dramedy and superhero spectacle, filing appellate briefs from the likes of Ally...

Glass (2019) Review

Glass (2019) Review

Glass sets out to shatter the superhero paradigm. Closer in tone and intent to “Unbreakable” than its immediate predecessor “Split”, “Glass” sees filmmaker M Night Shyamalan returning to the world of comic book super heroics, not to homage or reimagine them, but to deconstruct them...

Vice (2019) Review

Vice (2019) Review

Christian Bale piles on the pounds for Adam McKay’s The Waist Wing. In taking on the story of Dick Cheney, the apparently unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider turned Vice Presidential master of the universe, Adam McKay seeks to shed light on the breathtaking constitutional...

Living (2022) Review

Living (2022) Review

There's nothing like dying to make you start living. Some films confront mortality with bombast, while others, like Living, settle into your soul with a soothing, gentle dignity. Oliver Hermanus’ film, adapted by Kazuo Ishiguro, trades in quiet devastation, following Bill Nighy’s Mr...

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) Review

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) Review

Don’t worry if X-Men: Apocalypse isn’t that great; it’s not the end of the world, is it? The latest entry in Fox & Marvel’s own mutant chronicles marks the culmination of the current “First Class” trilogy, as well as the near completion of an almost unprecedented project of...

Jersey Girl (2004) Review

Jersey Girl (2004) Review

Across The View Askewniverse:Jersey Girl With the View Askewniverse closed off, Kevin Smith turned a fresh page and moved back towards the more conventional storytelling of “Chasing Amy” and if “Die Hard” qualifies as a Christmas movie then so does “Jersey Girl”. Yes - it's a Christmas...

Mary And The Witch’s Flower (2018) Review

Mary And The Witch's Flower (2018) Review

Mary And The Witch's Flower puts Craggus and the Craggling under its spell. Recently, the littlest Craggling has been tentatively spreading her cinematic wings beyond the admittedly lush and verdant shores of Disney, Pixar, Illumination and exploring other options. We’ve watched Wes...

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Realweegiemidget Reviews

Great Dallas reference. And of course Priscilla Presley starred in this soap too as Bobby’s love interest, Jenna Wade.