Liam Neeson & Pamela Anderson Might Save the Movie Comedy in 'The Naked Gun' Reboot

"I remember when the only things that were electric were eels, chairs, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago."

Picture this: A hot summer day. Tub of popcorn in your lap in a crowded, albeit air-conditioned movie theater. Dramatic action star heartthrob Liam Neeson comes onto the screen dressed in a little girl's Catholic school uniform as he fends off would-be bank robbers. Saving the day as he quips one-liners left and right.

The theater erupts in laughter. Laughter proceeds to full eruption for the entirety of the 1-hour and 20-minute movie. 

This scenario seems like a fantasy out of a bygone era. Something only 1980s or 1990s comedies could produce, yet it's 2025. 

At a time when television is trying to convince us that a restaurant drama like "The Bear" is in fact a comedy, or an Oscar winning film about a stripper getting beat up and abused in "Anora" is also a comedy…the latest reboot of "The Naked Gun" proves to be the standout comedy of the year. Make it the past five years. Perhaps the last decade. 

There's very little to say about the plot of the new "The Naked Gun," starring Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin, the son of the late Police Squad legend Detective Sergeant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen). To prevent the Los Angeles-based Police Squad from shutting down permanently, Drebin must solve a murder with ties to the wealthy Richard Cane (Danny Huston), an Elon Musk rip-off hellbent on controlling the world with his latest inventions. Along for the investigation is the deceased man's sister, Beth (Pamela Anderson), Drebin's bumbling partner (Paul Walter Hauser), and Police Squad Chief Davis (CCH Pounder).

"The Naked Gun," like all of its predecessors in the franchise, doesn't concern itself with plot, per se. It is a balls-to-the-wall, joke-a-minute, laugh riot that keeps the humor flying from minute one through the end credits. The universe of "The Naked Gun" pits dramatic actors against type with dry banter that does very little to further the premise but keeps the audience's devoted attention. The chemistry between the leads is, dare I say, electric (pun intended….you'll get the joke once you watch the movie), and not-so-subtle nods to the first three films in the series add sentimentality to a comedy that stands on its own two feet.

Much of the credit for the film's success goes to director Akiva Schaffer (The Lonely Island) and co-writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand for their whip-smart dialogue infused with zaniness and downright (intended) stupidity at the highest level. Yes, the basis of the movie's premise and hijinks comes from the older films from David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, but Schaffer and gang make this flick their own. A preposterous sequence with a snowman creates some of the best laughs the film drums up, which is saying something considering almost everything Neeson does or utters on screen is some of the best work of the great actor's career. 

The rest of the cast is unapologetic in contributing to the wack job energy displayed on screen, including Anderson, who, coming off of a successful dramatic turn in "The Last Showgirl," demonstrates a formidable power in comedic timing. Alongside Neeson, the pair work together to give a sexy comedy extra juice. Hauser, Pounder, and Huston give levity and a sense of grounding to a film devoid of gravity…or gravitas, for the matter.

Simply put, "The Naked Gun" is the best time you'll have at the movies in years. I watched all of "The Naked Gun" movies as a kid growing up, and like many of my fellow Millennials, nostalgia hits home in this reboot. It's an absolute joy to watch, as long as you can leave reality at the concession stand.