Just when you think you’ve seen this before in every cop/crime thriller, the bank robbery in which the bad guys are just about to get away, along comes Liam Neeson.
But wait. We first see him as a little girl sucking a lollipop. Neeson is usually the one chasing the people who stole the little girl, but this time, it’s all about the comedy instead of who’s been, well, taken.
It’s Neeson in The Naked Gun, now in theaters, as the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Police Squad character Frank Drebin in the three previous Naked Gun films, the first of which debuted in 1988.
Neeson is an unlikely comedy star after decades of acclaimed dramatic roles, but he nails the role in this parody that was initially spawned by the short-lived TV series Police Squad, itself a spoof of hard-boiled 1960s police shows like Dragnet.
His deadpan delivery elevates the material, beginning when we see him alongside his partner played by Paul Walter Hauser and their running cup of coffee joke as they move through the police station and out to their cruiser.
Directed by Akiva Schaffer and produced by Seth MacFarlane, the story centers around a man found dead after his electric vehicle crashes in Malibu. But was it an accident, or murder? The plot thickens when the man who runs the company, perhaps somewhat inspired by Elon Musk and played with evil resonance by Danny Huston, is revealed to be plotting an apocalyptic scenario fueled by his high-tech inventions.
Enter the car crash victim’s sister, Pamela Anderson’s Beth Davenport, who becomes instrumental in untangling the mystery even as she dazzles both Huston’s character, Richard Cane– and Drebin.
Audiences at this point know that Neeson and Anderson are apparently engaged in a real-life romance, which make their inevitable love scenes even more fun to watch.
There’s an absolutely hilarious scene where one of the bad guys is spying on them through night vision binoculars and appears to see the couple engaging in kinky sex, whereas the reality is that they are just puttering around the kitchen. We will also say that a dog is involved and there are fluids flying.
Somehow, there’s also a snowman who comes to life in this story as well as a wise old owl who represents the wisdom of Drebin’s father. Weird Al Yankovic also plays a role and there are fun cameos from boxer Michael Bisping and wrestler Cody Rhodes
But it’s Neeson and Anderson who steal the show, an unlikely comedic couple who bring audiences some much-needed laughter.
