There are some actors I can watch endlessly, a pantheon of greats if you'll allow. People like Robert Englund, Jack Lemmon, Alec Guiness and the star of this film, the wonderful Leslie Nielsen who sadly died a few days ago.
Nielsen is Frank Drebin, a good natured but bumbling and accident prone cop who investigates the near death of a friend of his. I say that but really the plot is almost secondary here to the onslaught of jokes. This film is very much the vein of spoofs, a vein opened up by the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker trio. The trick with their movies is that unlike Scary Movie, they'll play it absolutely straight, as if the main characters really are cops in a proper action film. This gives rise to some superb double takes from those involved as they check that they've just heard what they think they have. The master of this is Leslie Nielsen who can make your sides split with laughter just with a single glance to camera.
This movie stands up to repeat viewings, just for jokes you may have missed, jokes that happen in the background. It's also worth watching the credits, as unlike with other movies, these credits are a continuation of the comedy with jokes and puns inserted in amongst the actual job titles. That's not to say that the rest of the film isn't up to scratch. This movie rocks and is easily in my top 3 of comedy films. There are slapstick moments like a murderous doctor riding a missile launcher into a fireworks factory or Lieutenant Drebin accidentally killing a fish with pen. There are lines that make one roar out loud with laughter with the the incomparable "Nice beaver!" line being a favorite of mine.
Leslie Nielsen is a great loss to the world of movies, for he gave us so much. However there is no greater testament to his memory than the wonderful films he left us with. He may be gone but his work lives on.
No comments:
Post a Comment