The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear

• Director: David Zucker
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Comedy
• Movie Type: Absurd Comedy, Parody/Spoof
• Themes: Bumbling Cops, Kidnapping, Unlikely Heroes
• Main Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Robert Goulet
• Release Year: 1991
• Country: US
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• MPAA Rating: PG13

Plot

Leslie Nielsen returns as the intrepid (and accident-prone) Lt. Frank Drebin in Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, "un film de David Zucker." This second feature film from the "Police Squad!" series finds Drebin as a guest at a White House dinner, receiving an award for shooting his 1,000th drug dealer, although he admits to shooting only 998 -- he ran over the last two in his car. ("Luckily, they turned out to be drug dealers"). Also at the White House dinner is energy czar Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), whom President George Bush (John Roarke) has chosen to start a new national energy policy. Since Meinheimer believes in promoting alternative energy resources, the evil leaders of the polluting energy industries (coal, oil, and nuclear power--or the lobby groups SMOKE, SPILL and KABOOM) are horrified at Bush's choice. Joining together with arch-villain Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet), they plan to kidnap the real Meinheimer and substitute a fake Meinheimer in his place who will enact energy policy according to the dictates of the energy lobby. Drebin becomes deeply involved in the conspiracy when he runs into his ex-girl friend Jane (Priscilla Presley), who is not only Meinheimer's public relations director but also Hapsburg's current paramour. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Review

The second in a trilogy of comedies based on a failed TV series, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) exemplified the absurd, slapstick, lowbrow humor of director David Zucker, his brother Jerry Zucker, and their partner Jim Abrahams, characterized by sight gags, non sequiturs, broad acting, celebrity cameos, wordplay, pratfalls, expletives, and bodily functions. The films in the "Naked Gun" trilogy began as a six-episode midseason replacement TV series called Police Squad! (1982), a knowing send-up of such 1970s TV detective dramas as Cannon and Barnaby Jones. As with the Zucker Abrahams Zucker team's box office blockbuster Airplane! (1980), which mocked the clichés of the disaster epic, the newest creation spoofed the conventions of the crime drama, from its characters (a shoeshine boy who was an all-too-knowing informant) to its stylistic elements (the show-closing "freeze frame," which wasn't really frozen). When Police Squad! failed to become a hit, the Zucker Abrahams Zucker team successfully transformed the concept into a feature film, altering the emphasis from wicked satire to broad farce. As in the TV show and first film, star Leslie Nielsen, who had been a staple of tough-guy parts for decades, masterfully underplayed his lead role of Lt. Frank Drebin, a wooden, all-American version of Inspector Clouseau. Delivering every line without inflection and remaining unperturbed by even the most disturbing or humiliating event, Nielsen was given a second career in cartoon-like comedy roles because of his fame as Drebin. Less was required of the supporting parts, filled by such figures as Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, and Robert Goulet, all lampooning their public images. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Leslie Nielsen - Lt. Frank Drebin
• Priscilla Presley - Jane Spencer
• George Kennedy - Ed Hocken
• O.J. Simpson - Nordberg
• Robert Goulet - Quentin Hapsburg

Richard Griffiths - Dr. Meinheimer/Earl Hacker; Jacqueline Brookes - Commissioner Brumford; Anthony James - Hector Savage; Lloyd Bochner - Baggett; Tim O'Connor - Fenzwick; Ed Williams - Ted Olsen; John Roarke - George Bush; Margery Ross - Barbara Bush; Peter van Norden - John Sununu; Gail Neely - Winnie Mandela; Colleen Fitzpatrick - Blues Singer; Cliff Bemis - Barbecue Dad; Carlos Betancourt - 'Ojala que se majore pronto!'; Susan Breslau - Party Guest; Jan Campbell - Lady in Waiting; Bill Chemerka - 'Ladies & Gentlemen, the President...'; Robert J. Elisberg - McTigue; Al Fann - "It's 4 minutes too slow."; John Fleck - "If that's your attitude, forget it."; Alexander Folk - Crackhouse Cop; Lewis Friedman - Lab Technician; Zsa Zsa Gabor - Herself; James Gilstrap - 'Always nice to see nice people.'; Datta V. Gokhale - 'Hey, what the hell happened to the...'; Jose Gonzales-Gonzales - Mariachi; Ryan Harrison - Barbecue Boy; Wendy Hogan - Lady in Waiting; D.D. Howard - Barbecue Mom; Christopher Keene - "Hey Ken, Al! Look what I found."; Ken Kerman - "Hey, that's a pretty nice clock."; Jennifer Kretchmer - Barbecue Girl; Leslie Maier - Party Guest; Bernardo Marquez - 'Recuerdos a todos.'; Gina Mastrogiacomo - "Is this some kind of bust?"; Larry McCormick - TV Reporter; Tom McGreevey - "Very well, sir. It's from the lady."; Don McLeod - Gorilla; Claude Jay McLin - 'Yeah!'; Margarito Mendoza - "Puede decirme donde esta la casa de..."; Gene Mueller - Lab Technician; Mindy Newborn - Slave to the Composer; Manny Perry - "Let's get him."; Bob Reitman - Lab Technician; Ron Rosenblatt - Mr. Redmond; Sally Rosenblatt - Mrs. Redmond; Gino Salomone - Lab Technician; Raynor Scheine - "You're on my groin."; Mel Tormé - Himself; Robert Weil - George Russell; William Woodson - TV Commercial Announcer; C. Lindsay Workman - 'Your coat, sir?'; Jeff Wright - "Frank, we got that Sure-Grip suck..."; Weird Al Yankovic - "You pigs...say your prayers."; Alex Zimmerman - "Yeah!"; Burton Zucker - Lab Technician; Charlotte Zucker - "For a man in a wheelchair, he gets..."; Robert LoCash - FBI Agent; Don Pugsley - "He's wired!"; Courtney Terrett; Robert Weiss - Obstetrician; David Zucker - Davy Crockett; Mark Richman - Dunwell; John Stevens - 'Phone call, Commissioner'

Credit

Michael Ewing - Associate Producer, Robert LoCash - Associate Producer, Mindy Marin - Casting, Miranda Garrison - Choreography, John D. Schofield - Co-producer, Taryn de Chellis - Costume Designer, David Zucker - Director, Christopher Greenbury - Editor, James R. Symons - Editor, Jim Abrahams - Executive Producer, Gil Netter - Executive Producer, Jerry Zucker - Executive Producer, Ira Newborn - Composer (Music Score), Jim Scribner - Makeup, Stephen Abrums - Makeup, John J. Lloyd - Production Designer, Robert M. Stevens - Cinematographer, Robert Weiss - Producer, Charles Butcher - Set Designer, Mickey Michaels - Set Designer, James Tocci - Set Designer, Mike Millar - Special Effects, Pat Proft - Screenwriter, David Zucker - Screenwriter

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