The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

Directed by David Zucker, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear follows Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin as he and fellow cops Ed (George Kennedy) and Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) attempt to stop Robert Goulet’s Quentin Hapsburg from executing a diabolical scheme involving solar energy. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear doesn’t fare quite as well as its first-class predecessor, and yet it’s equally clear that the movie’s proliferation of appealing elements ensures that it remains quite engaging from beginning to end – with, especially, the raft of laugh-out-loud funny jokes and gags, along with the predictably appealing performances, elevating the proceedings on a regular basis. And although the erratic atmosphere does pave the way for a narrative that’s rarely as propulsive as one might’ve preferred (eg the movie is more effective as a series of tangentially-related skits than as a cohesive whole), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is nevertheless a fun, frequently hilarious entry within an above-average comedy series.

*** out of ****