The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear poster & wallpaper

Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy

Lieutenant Drebin discovers that his ex-girlfriend's new beau is involved in a plot to kidnap a scientist who advocates solar energy.

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66% liked it

106,013 ratings

PG-13, 85 min.

Directed by: David Zucker

Release Date: June 28, 1991

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DVD Release Date: August 15, 2000

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Flixster Reviews (2,296)

  • stopitgoaway
    November 6, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    When a bomb goes off in the offices of a research body looking an alternative energy sources, Lieutenant Frank Drebin is put on the case. Things are made harder when he finds that his ex-girlfriend (Jane) is one of the staff there. As unlikely as it seems, Drebin uncovers a sinis...( read more)ter plot involving the heavy fuel lobby to kidnap the President's adviser and replace him with a look-alike that will say what they want. However, with nobody believing him, Frank is forced to take action to expose the leader of the plot ? Jane's new lover, Quentin Hapsburg.

    Following on from the success of the first film, Frank Drebin is given a second outing and, as before, the humour is silly but comes in heavy doses, creating a pretty consistent tone to the film. The plot is, of course, nonsense and all you really need to know is that, as before, Drebin uncovers a plot that nobody believes while at the same time having love life problems ? but surely nobody will be watching this for the plot (and don't call me Shirley). Instead you will come to this for the steady delivery of absurdly silly jokes, all delivered with straight faces from all the cast. It is rather hit and miss but mostly the jokes are amusing even if there aren't as many laugh out loud moments as I would have liked. The addition of a lot of crude material didn't help and I felt it sucked a bit of the sense of fun out of the film.

    That is not to say that I didn't laugh out loud (I did) but most of the time I was just chuckling ? which is good enough for my money. A big reason the film is funny is the cast. As always, Nielsen is brilliant at this sort of thing when he is given the material. Here he is not as good as his best stuff (due to the material) but he is still the core of this film and is consistently good. Presley has less to do but is good at the straight-faced stuff. OJ and Kennedy have small roles but they are funny with what they have. Goulet is not as good as Montalban from the first film but he has some nice moments.

    Overall this is very funny if you are in the mood and, even if you're not, there is still much to enjoy here and it is consistently pretty funny with a real hatful of belly laughs. Not the most high brow of entertainment then but, if you're a fan of the genre then you should love this.
  • SirPant
    September 28, 2009
    SirPant
    Scrapes the barrel somewhat.
  • henriksedin
    July 31, 2009
    henriksedin
    pre funny leslie is funny
  • phubbs1
    May 21, 2009
    phubbs1
    Almost betters the original, some genius here, this really is the best comedy (with the first) of the 90's, truely hilarious in places. Shame the third was not as good. All cast members reprise their roles and reprise them well :)
  • PvtCaboose91
    October 10, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "I want a world where Frank junior and all the Frank juniors can sit under a shady tree, breathe the air, swim in the ocean, and go into a 7-11 without an interpreter."


    The straight-faced, hard-boiled, totally inept Lt. Frank Drebin (Nielsen) is back! Don't question

    ...( read more)it, don't scoff at it...just accept it.

    Given the relative success of The Naked Gun in 1988, it was inevitable that a sequel would be right around the corner. The critical mind boggles when one sets about critically analysing a film such as this. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear encompasses a fairly transparent plot that functions as an excuse to showcase a non-stop succession of laughs: hysterically witty lines, side-splittingly clumsy behaviour of characters, and sight gags to die for are among the inclusions here. Playing on words is another quintessential feature of a Naked Gun movie. As an example, Frank and his colleague Ed (Kennedy) are discussing the possible location of the villain. They find an address that's in the red light district. Frank wonders what the villain could be doing around there. "Sex, Frank?" Ed suggests as a possibility. "Er...no, not right now Ed. We've got work to do" is Frank's response.

    The seminal rule of sequels is that they should usually be avoided. In the case of The Naked Gun 2½, things are mildly different. David Zucker (who was responsible for the original Naked Gun as well as Airplane!, Top Secret!, and so on) has created a worthy sequel to such a fantastic spoof. Audiences probably expected something embarrassingly below par, but The Naked Gun 2½ is up to the task. Although the laughs aren't as frequent or as clever as its predecessor, there's still an abundance of hysterical gags to behold. But by no means is the film perfect. As usual, it's marred by lack of a meaty plot (just like its forerunner). Also, it just isn't as fresh as the original.

    Set a few years after the events of the first film, The Naked Gun 2½ finds the incompetent cop Frank Drebin who's now separated from his beloved Jane (Presley). The wealth of random (albeit utterly hilarious) gags are built around a very loose framework that only some may consider calling a plot. Frank is still bumbling around, making a mess of his police work while also (mysteriously) succeeding.
    Anyway, the President of the United States announces that he'll be supporting the opinions of the esteemed Doctor Mannheim (Griffith) who published a report regarding the energy future of America. The non-renewable resource parties aren't pleased about this and plan to kidnap Doctor Mannheim, replacing him with a decoy who will deliver a more favourable report. The responsibility of foiling the evil scheme falls to none other than Frank Drebin and his equally inept colleagues: Ed Hocken and Nordberg (played by O.J. Simpson...yes, that O.J. Simpson).
    The gags of course begin to pile upon each other. There are extremely obvious gags, some subtle laughs, and even very amusing parodies of several films (most notably E.T.).

    By the early 1990s, the ZAZ trio (consisting of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker) had made a name for themselves after delivering a satisfying plethora of quality spoofs. The trio no longer needed each other for success. While David Zucker helmed this sequel, he was scarcely assisted by his two long-time collaborators. Jim Abrahams helmed the 1988 Lily Tomlin-Bette Midler farce Big Business, whereas David Zucker's brother Jerry directed the Demi Moore-Patrick Swayze romance film Ghost (which is cleverly parodied in this sequel as well).
    The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is a very endearing and enduring spoof that holds up even after repeated viewings. David Zucker retains the charm of the original Naked Gun with a bunch of returning cast members and a congregation of decent belly laughs guaranteed to have one cackling uncontrollably. Heck, I laughed so hard my family complained about the level of noise!

    As usual, Leslie Nielsen is of a high standard as the venerable, dumb and spectacularly literal-minded Frank Drebin. The reason for casting Nielsen is obvious: the character of Frank Drebin is a parody of the cheesy late-1960s TV cop shows...and Nielsen is an actor who formerly starred in said TV cop shows. Ever since the ZAZ trio had Nielsen starring in Airplane!, never again was the actor taken seriously. Nielsen is ideal as always, frequently remaining straight-faced despite all the situations he endures.
    Priscilla Presley does everything she needs to do: she says her lines, and she looks beautiful as the character with "a body that could melt a cheese sandwich from across the room, and breasts that seemed to say...'Hey! Look at these!'". Priscilla has never been an outstanding actress...but she looks terrifically clueless and whiney when paired alongside Leslie Nielsen.
    There are also great moments courtesy of George Kennedy and O.J. Simpson.

    Overall, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is an appealing, hilarious spoof that continues to make audiences laugh all these years later. Notable Frank Drebin moments include: accidentally assaulting Barbara Bush at the White House, unwittingly torturing a captive he's meant to be rescuing, misinterpreting everything said to him, and describing his impending investigation as "like having sex... It's a painstaking, arduous task that seems to go on and on forever and just when you think things are going your way, nothing happens!" If any of these described moments appeal to you, you'll have a ball. In the simplest terms possible: I laughed my ass off all the way through! Followed by The Naked Gun 33?: The Final Insult.
  • waleskamarie
    November 20, 2009
    waleskamarie
    hehehehe this is a funny movie
  • dukeakasmudge
    October 25, 2009
    dukeakasmudge
    Another Naked Gun classic
  • karenpackace
    October 22, 2009
    karenpackace
    Thought this movie was stupid.
  • liam174
    October 10, 2009
    liam174
    Funny as hell. Arguably better than the first one.
  • avp60685
    September 20, 2009
    avp60685
    i saw parts of this on tv and it was so corny and stupid i stopped watching it but it was good if you want a laugh

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The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear Trivia

The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of... Trivia

  • -"Frank, why dont you want to have children?" "Thats nonsense, havent you forgotten that time I tried to adopt that 18 year old Korean girl?" Is a quote from which comedy film?  Answer »
  • who acts as "Lt.Frank Drebin" in the movie Naked Gun 2 1/2 ; the smell of fear  Answer »
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