The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Movie · 1988 · Comedy, Crime · 1h 26m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 6.9/10 (641.8K ratings)
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Overview
When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.9/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.73/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 76
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
David Zucker
Production
Paramount Pictures
Cast
Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy, O. J. Simpson, Susan Beaubian, Nancy Marchand, Raye Birk, Jeannette Charles, Ed Williams, Tiny Ron, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Leslie Maier, Winifred Freedman, Joe Grifasi, Tony Brafa, Lorali Hart, Nicholas Worth, Ronald G. Joseph, Doris Hess
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A peak example of deadpan, gag-dense parody: fast, absurd, and still remarkably rewatchable. Its jokes come from relentless escalation, visual nonsense, and Leslie Nielsen’s perfect straight-faced delivery, making it one of the defining studio comedies of the late 1980s.
Best for
fans of broad slapstick and wordplay
viewers who like spoof comedies with a straight-faced lead
people seeking a highly quotable comfort watch
audiences who enjoy rapid-fire visual gags and absurd escalation
Skip if
you prefer subtle or character-driven comedy
you dislike constant joke density and non-stop silliness
you want a grounded crime story
you need humor that ages in a more contemporary style
Overview
The Naked Gun is one of those comedies that feels engineered for maximum laugh-per-minute efficiency. It takes the hardboiled cop movie seriously just long enough to smash it into pieces, then keeps finding new ways to top itself with sight gags, throwaway lines, and perfectly committed nonsense.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is the discipline behind the chaos. The movie never winks too hard; it plays every absurdity with total conviction, which is exactly why the jokes land. Leslie Nielsen’s deadpan performance is the anchor, and the film around him is a machine built to exploit that face and that timing.
Bottom line
It is also a very specific kind of mainstream comedy: broad, shameless, and aggressively silly, but with real craft in the editing and setup/payoff structure. If you like your comedies quotable, fast, and proudly stupid in the smartest way, this is essential viewing.
Top Letterboxd reviews
matt lynch (4★) · 7152 likes
"Just think...the next time I shoot someone, I could be arrested."
Gets funnier every time I see it.
James (Schaffrillas) (4★) · 5274 likes
That guy who played Nordberg is going places
Matt Singer (5★) · 3853 likes
I'd known her for years. We used to go to all the police functions together. Ah, how I loved her. But she had her music. At least, I think she had her music. She'd hang out with the Chicago Male Chorus and Symphony. I don't recall her playing an instrument, or being able to carry a tune. Yet she was on the road 300 days of the year. In fact, I bought her a harp for Christmas. She asked me what it was...
Karsten (4.5★) · 2750 likes
“I’ve got nine more” is one of THE funniest lines. As a diehard Airplane! fan I can’t believe it took this long to watch this.
Jay (3.5★) · 2697 likes
strange that the crown forgot such an important part of the queens history, when she was almost assassinated by hypnotism at a baseball game