Kimber Myers
I did not think I needed an extended gag about the Black Eyed Peas in the year 2025, but apparently, Akiva Schaffer knows better. Like jokes about that ubiquitous musical group of the aughts (and perhaps the band itself), this legacy sequel of The Naked Gun series isn’t necessary — or should at least require large amounts of drugs and alcohol to enjoy. Yet even seen while sober, Schaffer’s take on the L.A.-set police movie spoof is a worthy successor to the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker classic: profoundly stupid, wildly silly, and relentlessly funny.
The Naked Gun is 85 minutes of nearly nonstop hilarity, and that includes the credits, which contain a final scene, a giggle-inducing song, and little jokes in the actual credits themselves. Director Schaffer and his co-writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand are overachievers, stuffing every moment with not only dialogue that lands a laugh literally every minute but also visual gags hiding in the background. Like its predecessors that benefited from multiple viewings on VHS and cable, this 2025 version will also reward watching on repeat. There are layers upon layers of jokes: the obvious humor spoken by these wonderfully dim characters, the more subtle verbal in-jokes or throwaway lines tossed off so casually that you almost miss them, and elements of the production design that serve no practical purpose other than getting the audience to laugh.
And laugh they do: while this Paramount production will surely be on their namesake streaming service in a few months, where you’ll giggle watching it over and over, there’s something about snort-laughing in a theater with other people who are also snort-laughing. You get to see who else is terrible enough to chuckle at a (very funny) Bill Cosby joke or who also knows the opening bars to the multiple comedic needle drops. I haven’t been in a theater with this many people laughing this hard in a long time.
The Naked Gun nods to its predecessor (including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from one of the surviving stars), but it also stands on its own.Some of its jokes will be cringe-inducing in a few decades (even more so than they are now), just like some of the original’s are in 2025, but it smartly addresses police violence and racism without dwelling on these cultural issues in a way that would feel out of place in such a goofy movie. You’re not coming to this franchise for its incisive social commentary, but Schaffer also knows you can’t — and shouldn’t — ignore the evolution in how many people see cops.
Like the original, The Naked Gun centers on Frank Drebin, a Police Squad detective who bumbles his way through the underbelly of Los Angeles. Yet this update follows Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Frank Sr., the role originated by Leslie Nielsen in the Police Squad! show and subsequent film franchise. Though he’s largely known for his more serious roles, Liam Neeson takes the mantle in this comedy, and his on-screen persona from films like Taken and his deadpan delivery of delightfully dumb dialogue make him the ideal choice for the part.
Also perfectly cast? Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport, the hot, sad sister of a murder victim and romantic interest for the widowed cop who is scared to love again. Plus, Paul Walter Hauser as Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy’s Ed Hocken and loyal partner to Frank. Also Danny Huston as Richard Cane, a billionaire who seems to have too many connections to the deceased for it to be a coincidence. Oh, and the always welcome CCH Pounder as Chief Davis, the beleaguered boss who is tired of having to answer for her lieutenant’s idiotic antics. Basically, everyone does a marvelous job of speaking absurd lines with impeccable timing, and it feels like a goddamn gift.
The Naked Gun is so much better than it needs to be at every turn. Like Schaffer’s last film, Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, this shows a real love for the source material without feeling overly precious about it. Schaffer, Neeson, and everyone else on screen are having a blast, and it’s nearly impossible for the audience not to do the same.
