Posted Dec 17, 2003 - Released in 1988, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker followed up "Airplane!" with "The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad!" which used the same type of dialogue comedy built on background gags. Leslie Nielsen plays incompetent, but lucky Los Angeles police detective Lt. Frank Drebin who is out to find out who shot his partner (O.J. Simpson). With the help of Capt. Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) and love interest Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), Drebin discovers that wealthy shipping magnate Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) is plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Eventually, Drebin must foil the attempt while masquerading as an opera singer and first base umpire at a baseball game. Leslie Nielsen and Ricardo Montalban are perfectly cast as antagonists as the former bumbles his way through the case despite the devious schemes by the latter. Presley and Simpson are not much in the acting talent category, but for a film like this one, it makes no difference and only adds to the campiness of the story and humor. The pinnacle of this film is when Nielsen is disguised as the umpire and starts to really get into his part (to say the least). The bottom line is that "The Naked Gun" is a fun and hilarious film that can withstand repeated viewings. In fact, multiple viewings is recommended to catch all the jokes.
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