Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
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| Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | |
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 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Peter Segal |
| Produced by | Robert K. Weiss David Zucker |
| Written by | Jim Abrahams Jerry Zucker (television series Police Squad!) Pat Proft David Zucker Robert LoCash |
| Starring | Leslie Nielsen Priscilla Presley Fred Ward George Kennedy O.J. Simpson Anna Nicole Smith Kathleen Freeman |
| Music by | Ira Newborn |
| Cinematography | Robert M. Stevens |
| Editing by | James R. Symons |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 18, 1994 |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US $30,000,000 (estimated) |
| Preceded by | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult is a 1994 comedy film, the third and final film of the Naked Gun series, which was based on the Police Squad! television series. The film was marketed with the tagline "Mostly all new jokes." The 33⅓ of the title is a reference to the speed at which most gramophone records play. The film was originally going to be titled Naked Gun 33⅓: Just for the Record, but was changed after the studio felt not many understood the joke.[1]
The film stars Leslie Nielsen as Police Lieutenant Frank Drebin (his original character from Police Squad!), Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer Drebin, O. J. Simpson as Nordberg, and George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hocken, all of whom reprise their roles from the first two films. Fred Ward, Anna Nicole Smith, and Kathleen Freeman co-star as a gang of bombers set to blow up the Academy Awards ceremony. Raye Birk reprises his role as the villainous "Pahpshmir" from the first film. In the scene at the end of the movie, while Pahpshmir is on the toilet, he can be seen reading the Anna Nicole Smith issue of Playboy.
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[edit] Plot
Frank Drebin and Jane Spencer, who were dating on and off in the two previous films, are now married, and appear as a mostly happily married couple at the start of the film, though they argue later on and Jane leaves him, in a parody of Thelma & Louise.
The film introduces the criminal Rocco Dillon (Fred Ward) in jail, who is approached by the terrorist Pahpshmir (seen in the first Naked Gun film - name a pun on pap smear) to be given a target for a bombing.
Frank is pulled out of retirement, and goes undercover pretending to be a prisoner named "Nick 'The Slasher' McGuirk" at the jail where Rocco Dillon is being held, and they break out of jail in a parody of The Great Escape.
They escape through a tunnel arriving outside in a L.A. high school playground, and are escorted by Dillon's gangster mother to his country retreat. At his hideout Frank is told of the plot to blow up the Academy Awards, while Jane arrives looking for him, she is taken hostage. Frank, pretending to be Phil Donahue, is able to get into the awards, where many antics are caused on stage while he and the police are looking for the bomb hidden in one of the envelopes. Rocco Dillon arrives and points his gun at Frank, who is holding the bomb in the best picture envelope. In a subsequent fight, Dillon ends up with his feet tied up in a rope, which sends him high in the air, he comes back down again, grabs the bomb and is sent hurtling through the ceiling and into the sky above, where he goes into a helicopter, head first into a toilet, where it turns out Pahpshmir was sitting, and the bomb explodes killing both of them.
[edit] Production
This is the only film in the series to be directed by Peter Segal, rather than David Zucker. Zucker instead receives credit for writing the film's screenplay. Similar to the previous entry in the series, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker did not write for the film's script, but both returned as executive producers and received writing credits due to their contributions to Police Squad! and the first film.
Several scenes in the film had been planned for the earlier films but had been cut out. The opening sequence had been planned for the first film. The scene where Frank and Jane get married, and drive off with Nordberg on the back of the car, was filmed for the second film. In the latter, the car being driven is the electric car that featured in the second film.
In the opening scene at the train station, the woman with the baby carriage who is assisted by Frank Drebin is played by Susan Breslau, the sister of Jerry and David Zucker.
[edit] Critical reaction
The directors' commentary to the DVD frequently references the critics' reviews on the film. The film did fairly well at the box office, yet it received several very negative reviews. Many felt that there was little plot in the film; it relied on comedy throughout, and had little of the romantic or action elements that were common in the previous two films. In addition, many felt that the humor was weak and too similar to that in the previous films. The opening sequence of the film, which parodied The Untouchables, was popular, however, and the climax at the Academy Awards was also fairly popular, but the middle part of the film was criticized as uninspiring. The directors claim on the DVD that it would have pleased some critics to have stopped the film after the opening credits. Chris Hicks is an example of an unsympathetic critic of the film, who gave the film a rating of two stars.[2]
This was O. J. Simpson's last movie before the accused murder of his ex-wife and her friend. Despite being acquitted, the controversy surrounding these events led him not to return to acting. For his performance, Simpson won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Isotoner had considered Simpson as as potential spokesperson during the production of this film. An advertising agency retained by Isotoner noted Simpson expressing an interest in their "versatile" glove, but cancelled their offer after the poor reception to his acting.
[edit] Cameo appearances
Numerous celebrities have cameo appearances in the film, both in credited and uncredited roles.[3]
As themselves:
- Shannen Doherty – uncredited
- Olympia Dukakis – uncredited
- Morgan Fairchild – uncredited
- Elliott Gould – uncredited
- Mariel Hemingway – uncredited
- Florence Henderson
- James Earl Jones – uncredited
- Mary Lou Retton
- Raquel Welch – uncredited
- Vanna White
- "Weird Al" Yankovic (previously appeared in The Naked Gun as himself and in The Naked Gun 2½ as the police station thug)
- Pia Zadora
As minor characters:
- Joe Grifasi as the director of the Academy Awards (previously appeared as a the Pier 32 Dockman in The Naked Gun)
- Ann B. Davis as "Alice" from The Brady Bunch (credited as playing herself)
- Marc Alaimo as the trucker
- R. Lee Ermey as the mess hall guard – uncredited
- Julie Strain as the dominatrix
Many of the uncredited stars in the cameos (Elliot Gould, James Earl Jones, Raquel Welch and Morgan Fairchild) guest starred in episodes from the first two seasons of Lois & Clark, while Mariel Hemingway starred in Superman IV.
[edit] Possible Sequel
Paramount Pictures is considering making a direct-to-video Naked Gun and Airplane! sequel in the near future, as part of the company's new plan to produce four to six films each year with budgets under US $10 million.[4]
[edit] Related litigation
An image used on the promotional poster for the film parodies a famous portrait photograph by Annie Leibovitz which was featured on the August 1991 cover of Vanity Fair magazine. The original photograph showed a pregnant, nude Demi Moore, and the parody photograph showed Leslie Nielsen in a similar pose. Leibovitz sued Paramount for copyright infringement; the Second Circuit deemed the use to be protected fair use because of its transformative parodic purpose.
See Leibovitz v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 2d Cir. 1998
[edit] International titles
- France – Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver Hollywood ? (Is There a Cop to Save Hollywood?) or L'agent fait la farce 33⅓: L'insulte finale
- Spain: Agárralo como puedas 33⅓: El insulto final (Catch it as you can 33⅓: The Final Insult)
- Mexico, Venezuela – ¿Y dónde está el policía? 33⅓ (And Where Is the Police? 33⅓)
- Argentina - La pistola desnuda 33⅓ - El insulto final (Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult)
- Brazil - Corra, Que A Polícia Vem Aí 33⅓: O Insulto Final (Run, Because the Cops Are Coming 33⅓: The Final Insult)
- Italy – Una pallottola spuntata 33⅓: l'insulto finale (The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult)
- Finland – Mies ja alaston ase 33 1/3
- Serbia - Goli Pištolj 33⅓: Poslednja uvreda (The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult)
- German - Die nackte Kanone 33 1/3
[edit] References
- ^ Trivia for Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
- ^ Hicks, Chris (1994-03-18). Naked Gun 331/3: The Final Insult. Movie Review. Deseret News. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
- ^ Full Cast and Crew for Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
- ^ Garrett, Diane (2007-03-01). More DVD sequels at Paramount?. Home Entertainment. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
[edit] External links
- Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult at the Internet Movie Database
- Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult at Allmovie
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