Who doesn’t love a good spoof movie?
Honestly, most of them are bad so you must appreciate the good ones! Being 30, I grew up around the time when a flood of such films was flooding the market. What brought this new trend about? Scary Movie. This franchise brought about a resurgence of this dying comedy genre. The first Scary Movie rode on the success of the meta-horror comedy franchise Scream. Scream was a bit of a spoof as it took down all the tropes that built up the slasher genre. But Scary Movie took aim at all things horror in the late 90s and early 00s. But with the success of this franchise, EVERY genre got a ridiculous and stupid spoof film to tear it down. This has mostly faded away, but it certainly made an impact on my experiences.
But there are spoof films well before this, right?
The true king of the genre (at least to me) will always be the legendary comedian, Mel Brooks. He was the one who in the 60s started a revolution in what comedy could be. With the all-time classic, Blazing Saddles, Brooks took on the most “American” genre there is in the form of westerns. There were racial and societal commentaries, tearing down of macho personas, and performances that will go down as some of the best in comedy history (including what should have been an Oscar-nominated performance for Harvey Corman for Best Supporting Actor…which his character agrees with as well). Young Frankenstein was equal parts homage and lampoon of Universal horror films, Spaceballs which took on all popular science fiction, and History of the World Part I which took on…history of all things. Brooks is an incredible talent who brought about the dawn of spoof comedies.
But what are the three names that have become synonymous with the spoof comedy genre?
Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker. Well…I guess that is technically only two names but you get the point. This trio of comedic writers made a career out of making such spoofs. They have arguably the greatest spoof of all time in the form of Airplane! They have even taken their talents to the Scary Movie franchise creating some of the better entries. Their legacy has become synonymous with the dry and serious deadpan work of their muse, Leslie Nielsen. But one film really gave Nielsen his chance to shine. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
What makes this spoof comedy so iconic?
This does not quite live up to the legacy of Airplane!…but it certainly comes close. This film takes on all things detective story and cop procedural. The iconic voiceover narration that inhabits many noirish-type films and series gets a send up. Nielsen will be perfectly giving series voiceovers while random visual gags and physical comedy beats undermine the significance of his words. He is not even sure where he is going as he walks right from the sidewalk of downtown LA to the grass and dirt cover paths of the Hollywood sign. How did we get here? Doesn’t matter…it is just funny! The juxtaposition of silly outcomes over dead serious narration makes for plenty of great laughs. One of the best running gags is Nielsen’s Dreben horrible driving where he crashes into things every time he tries to stop somewhere. From the core, this detective spoof works on so many layers.
But how do the Zucker brothers and Abrahams capture the attention of the audience?
They utilize three important scenes to lay down the groundwork. First…the global meeting of dangerous leaders. You can see almost every single infamous global leader at the time represented in this scene. How do undercut the tension? Have Dreben turn them all into absurd punching bags, that’s how! The absurd turn that every scene takes leads to the most laughs in the film. Then there are the opening credits. There is inspired filmmaking with a POV shot from the perspective of a police car…but it begins to ride on the sidewalk…then into stores…then into peoples’ homes. This insane escalation is a subtle dig at the authoritarian nature of law enforcement, and it is also a crazy gag that keeps getting crazier. Then there is the initial scene that sets up the plot and the film’s suave villain played by non-other than Ricardo Montalban. We see Dreben’s partner gets shot a ridiculous amount while also falling into a variety of physical gags. Within the first 10 minutes…you know exactly what you are in for (and that is a good thing!).
But what is the real crown jewel of this campy and silly romp?
Nielsen. This film would not work without him. His completely committed and straight man approach just exacerbates its absurdity. His dry wit and perfect line delivery are exactly what this crazy and silly dialogue needs. Very few actors could say half of his lines with a straight face. His chemistry on-screen with his fellow cast members is great. His commitment to on-screen lover Priscilla Presley is impressive (they sell one of the craziest and most inappropriate jokes in the whole film with the human-sized condoms). You believe them running down a beach together…together…in slow motion…as they close line with another couple. He also makes a charming pair with George Kennedy (a great screen legend having a lot of fun too). Throw in the suave and charming Montalban and his back and forth with Nielsen and you got yourself quite the pair of on-screen nemeses.
But what do people want out of a spoof like The Naked Gun?
Laughs. Everyone wants to sit down and laugh at all the absurdity. Oh boy…there are plenty of laughs to be had too. I could go on for pages just quoting this film. There is even a wide breadth of jokes in the film. There is an actual joke pointing at police getting away with shooting people…in 1988. We have come so far, haven’t we? But I am not going to argue that this is the most intelligent comedy out there, but it does indeed have some clever moments. Even if the actual jokes or punch lines aren’t the sharpest, the way the film commentates on human nature sure does. The way people go crazy for Nielsen’s absurd antics as an umpire is quite a on point. They even make a joke about a driving instructor teaching a young woman how to flip off another motorist. The Zuckers and Abrahams sure have their fingers on the pulse.
But many of the laughs are just plain stupid, aren’t they?
There are silly and easy laughs watching a police car’s airbags forcing the car to drive on its own. Can a man even compliment a woman’s beaver…which is stuffed on a shelf? Can you even ask a man if they are Cuban or not anymore to just find out that they are Dutch-Irish? You probably don’t even want to swallow a spoonful of Drano either because Dreben obviously knows from experience. Not everyone has to wear nightcaps either. The play on words and misunderstood questions are a dime per dozen in this flick but they always seem to have a 50-50 chance of landing (but that is only true 10% of the time).
What a silly and riotous good time this film is?
Nielsen was an absolute gem of an actor and comedian. Dry wit goes a long way in this craziness.
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The Naked Gun might not be on the same level as the Zucker/Abrahams Airplane! but it is such a blast. The setups are so stupid…but just so funny!
