Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Fred Ward, Anna Nicole Smith, "Weird Al" Yankovic (cameo), Vanna White (cameo)
Directed by: Peter Segal
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
1994

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) comes out of retirement to stop a terrorist.

Review:

Tim: I suppose it's a good thing that Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult is the final film of this franchise. Each subsequent movie has represented a drop in quality from the one before it. While this film is close to the second film, it doesn't quite have the same impact. By this point, we've seen the Naked Gun gags play out multiple times on screen, and this film felt a bit stale. Many of the jokes are similar, the format is nearly the same, and this movie ends up feeling a bit unnecessary. I would have liked to see more of a departure from the usual storyline, or at least something to keep the film fresh.

On the one hand, I really appreciate that this film kept so much of the original cast intact. Leslie Nielsen obviously reprises his role for the third time, but we also get Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and O.J. Simpson again. I don't want to criticize this too much, because the continuity of these characters is a great strength- it's fun seeing them in all three films. However, it makes the films hard to tell apart. I would have loved to see a new addition to the cast (not just a new villain). This movie needed some new blood (in hindsight, it would have been good to drop Simpson and add just about anyone in Hollywood). These four characters returned, but that led to the "been there, done that" feel. I also don't think any of them evolved their performances in the three films- Nielsen is doing his same old shtick, Presley and Simpson still can't act, and besides getting older, Kennedy delivers the same kind of performance we've seen before. It felt like the whole cast was just going through the motions. Now, this doesn't include Fred Ward- as the villain, he brought some new energy to the film, and I enjoyed him in the movie. I did not, however, care for Anna Nicole Smith, and her complete lack of acting ability.

I suppose the whole plot to blow up the Academy Awards was clever. I like the basic idea. I didn't like that the whole "Nielsen is onstage doing crazy things and everyone thinks he's Phil Donahue" bit ran on and on and on, though. There were some humorous moments throughout the film, but I feel like the laughs-per-minute ratio was probably the lowest of the three movies here.

While very flawed, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult is not a terrible movie. Nielsen and company pull off significantly better spoof movies than most people. In many ways, this is a perfectly fine little comedy. It's just that it is average in every sense. The whole movie feels like a journey we've already taken before. The freshness and the excitement of the original film is almost completely gone at this point. While I suppose I did have some fun watching this movie, I'm glad we didn't have to sit through Naked Gun: 444 1/4.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear