The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - PG-13
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that this film is a series of pratfalls, sight gags, and bawdy jokes, all of which should delight teen boys (and their fathers). The movie's violence -- Nordburg gets shot at repeatedly, and Frank's safety is constantly in question -- is so over the top that you can't take it seriously. Characters talk about having safe sex (and are later seen wearing full-body condoms). When trying to get off a ledge, Frank first grabs a woman's breasts and then pulls the stone carving of a penis off a statue. For older teens, the language and jokes are nothing new and shouldn't be disturbing.
Families can talk about why this brand of "dumb humor" is appealing. Why do they enjoy it? Families can also talk about how the film is a spoof on current events of the 1980s. Is the insight still relevant today? Are the jokes still funny?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Heather Boerner
If you're at all squeamish about toilet humor, pratfalls, or sexual innuendo, avoid THE NAKED GUN. It's rife with all of the above -- in fact, it's a nonstop series of jokes that will have your inner 14-year-old boy rolling on the floor laughing.
Police Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is investigating an assassination plot against the queen of England, who will soon be visiting Los Angeles. His search takes him to the offices of business bigwig Vincent Ludwig (played campily by Ricardo Montalban), into the arms of Ludwig's assistant, Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), and into harm's way.
But where Frank goes and who he meets isn't as important as the crazy gags along the way. Just a few examples: Frank's a horrible driver, constantly running into things and letting his car ride off the road. When he meets Jane, Frank follows her to a library, where he looks up at her on a ladder and says "Nice beaver." Cut to a shot of a stuffed beaver being handed down. Later, when the couple consummate their attraction, they strip naked and don full-body condoms. And when Frank attends a press conference, he leaves his mic on in the bathroom, letting everyone in the room know what he does in the stall.
If you don't have an inner 14-year-old boy, pay attention to the plot twists that are surprising a couple of decades down the line. For instance, O.J. Simpson plays Det. Nordburg, a well-meaning cop who's constantly getting hurt. It's hard to appreciate now, post-L.A. riots and "if it doesn't fit, you must acquit," but at the time, Simpson was beloved. Seeing him shot up, wheeled away, and in traction was a shock.
Likewise, when the film starts with the meeting of "rogue nations," the Ayatolla Komeini says, "We must conceive of at least one terrorist act that will show all the world that the United States, the Great Satan, is but a paper tiger, a weak nation, a weak people, a people ripe for destruction." Those words seem even more ominous now than they did in the midst of the Cold War.
People who enjoy this film should check out Top Secret, Airplane!, Dumb and Dumber, and the movie's sequels, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Stupid-humor buffs who enjoy puns over pratfalls should try anything by Mel Brooks.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentBawdy jokes and innuendo, and one comical love scene with full-body condoms. |
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ViolenceThree Stooges-style violence -- all comical. Characters are shot at, sometimes hit repeatedly without being injured. |
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LanguageA few mild curse words ("hell"), but nothing to worry too much about. |
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Social BehaviorOther than a stream of sight gags and sexual pranks, there's no message here. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSome cigarette smoking and brief drinking, but not to excess. |
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