The first The Naked Gun movie is one of my all-time favourite comedies, so I figured it was about time to see its sequels.
The Smell of Fear contains all of the same qualities that made the first film great.
Leslie Nielsen returns as Lt. Frank Drebin, the straight man, ever serious in demeanour, never realising that what he's doing is wrong in some way, and therefore hilarious every step of the way. Just like the first movie, it essentially plays like a classic detective noir film, but overlaid with multiple jokes a minute. Seriously, the film never fails to take an opportunity to make a joke, and it never lets a joke drag out for more than a few seconds. What's more the movie uses both verbal and visual comedy; part of what keeps the comedy fresh is the fact that you never quite know how the next joke is going to be delivered. There's a knack for wordplay, such as this quick exchange between Frank and his ex-lover Jane: "He was a white guy, with a moustache, about 6 foot 3" "Awfully big moustache" replies Frank, once again completely serious and failing to realise the misunderstanding. The visual comedy is hard to describe in writing effectively, but it's hilarious as well, believe me.
The plot is paper thin, and that's absolutely by design; ridiculous to juxtapose with the serious performances.
The Verdict: It's really hard to review a full-fledged comedy like this; put simply, I found it funny, so I laughed. Not every joke landed, but that's absolutely fine when there's so many jokes flying around constantly. I can comfortably recommend this movie to anyone who enjoyed the first, however a few moments in s sex shop and a few jokes that'll go over younger heads may dissuade people from showing this to their children. Putting a number rating on such a light and silly movie doesn't seem right, but if I had to pick, I feel comfortable giving it...
Rating: 7/10
Watched January 6th, 2016, published July 4th, 2016
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