1988
Directed by David Zucker
I know it gives great pain to my readers that I don't like the film Airplane! (pause for boos). I expected to hate this movie just as much, but I actually managed to enjoy this movie a little. Only a little. It still is not my brand of comedy.
Basically it is the clueless spy plot, which has been done now approximately 1674 times. Frank Drebin is an incompetent police lieutenant who tries to stop the assassination of Queen Elizabeth II when she visits Los Angeles. He is aided by the would be assassin's assistant, Jane, and the two fall in love. Oh, and O.J. Simpson is in it. That guy oozes comedy...
So like I said, it is not my type of humor, as I am not that into visual gags and slapstick comedy. Still, I did find myself laughing a few times (nothing to see here, move along!). A part of me will always find Leslie Nielsen slightly annoying, but he was enjoyable enough here.
Not the best comedy I have seen, or even the best comedy of 1988. But still a light, fun film.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
Film is based on the short lived television series, Police Squad!.
OOoohh ... I hop none of us would boo you Amanda ..
ReplyDeleteI sort of get your point that Leslie Nielson CAN be annoying. ('Dracula, dead and loving it' is painfully unfunny), but this is .. good enough. As any film that is taken from a 30 min TV idea and stretched to feature length .. (you can tell I will be rushing to see 'Dad' Army), it feels stretched. There are very funny moments and very dull moments, but, on the whole .. I'd go one * higher than your good self. (I've seen the 6 episodes of 'Police Squad' and wish there had been more)
Dad's Army is the best sitcom bar none for me, so I fear for what the new film is going to turn it into.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch Police Squad on TV in the eighties when ITV were the first in the UK to run programs through the night and used it as filler to air around 3am. So it was odd for me (but no one else I knew) when one of my favourite shows suddenly became a hit movie. Not at all as good as the TV show, but not bad. If only the Dad's Army film could hit such heights...
Agreed, Ray. Stretched is a good word for it. And Dessie, I have never heard of the show before!
ReplyDeleteAmanda ... if you can track down even one or two episodes of 'Police squad', I'd say they were well worth a try for you. Imagine all the best bits from the film concentrated down into 25 mins... Well, maybe not quite that good, but ..
ReplyDeleteDessie, I've been sort of trying to work out a bit about you from your comments. I think we are Amanda's two UK correspondents .. and, again, like myself, probably older than most on here. I live in Cockermouth (yes, where the floods were, and yes, I did get affected) .. yourself?
Frank Drebin's sidekick was much better in Police Squad than OJ Simpson in the film. So many wonderful memories...
ReplyDelete- The monkey at the end of the episode when they all did their weekly freeze
- Little Italy
- Who shot Ralph Twice
- Johnny the Snitch given the "word on the street"
- Ted Olson in the lab (walking around the doorway)
The sixth episode was in a totally different style though, as I remember it. Very odd.
I've just had a look on Google Maps and it turns out that there really is a place called Cockermouth. Yes, I'm another old stalker that poor Amanda's managed to pick up on here. A southern Jessie from Surrey by birth and breeding but would style myself as a Londoner. These past few years I've been living in Hong Kong and Beijing.
ReplyDeleteA tip from the east: Kekexili (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386651/)
For me it has the same atmosphere as No Country For Old Men, but with antelopes. What's not to like?