Bovie Movie

Leslie Nielsen spreads himself very thinly in this second-rate spoof of The Fugitive, Clear and Present Danger and Mission: Impossible. He plays a superstar classical violinist accused of murder and on the run to find the real culprit — a one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed man. Even North by Northwest and Chinatown are thrown into director Pat Proft’s rough-and-ready hotch-potch, which misses practically every target it tries so desperately to hit. It’s a big disappointment from Proft, co-creator of Hot Shots and The Naked Gun. 

This is the first and still the best of Zucker, Zucker and Abrahams’s wonderful movie send-ups. There’s hardly a second that passes without an assault by a wickedly accurate spoof, cringe-inducing pun or inspired sight gag, and the years have not diminished its dumb appeal. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are the nominal stars, but the most fun is had by the distinguished supporting cast. It’s the film that made a comedy star out of Leslie (“don’t call me Shirley”) Nielsen, but a whole troupe of veteran character actors — Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges — also have a hugely enjoyable time sending up their screen personae. And, best of all, it drove a large nail into the coffin of what was becoming a very tired Hollywood institution, the Airport series. 

Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) loves a mystery. Why are we here? Is there life after sex? Yes, Drebin tackles the big issues–and the biggest of all is how to stop devious Quentin Hapsburg’s (Robert Goulet) plan to destroy the environment! Returning with Leslie Nielsen are Priscilla Presley as Jane, the woman who can melt a cheese sandwich from 20 paces; George Kennedy as the intrepid Capt. Ed Hocken; and O.J. Simpson, the man so famous a beverage is named after him, as hard-luck cop Nordberg. The gang’s all here. And so are the laughs.

The tired format limps on here with Scary Movie 3 director David Zucker returning — but now well past his Airplane! prime. The intersecting parodies include the Saw films, The Grudge, War of the Worlds and The Village with nods to Million Dollar Baby and Brokeback Mountain thrown in for good measure alongside pop culture references to Oprah and Michael Jackson. Anna Faris gamely plays the naive, accident-prone Cindy Campbell for the fourth time, in a fatigued franchise that is still recycling the most ancient slapstick and toilet gags. Witless, obvious and completely devoid of anything remotely funny, even the most undemanding audience will find little to laugh at in this practically unwatchable dud aimed (presumably) at the post-pub DVD rental market. 

The scariest thing about this second Scary Movie sequel is that Pop Idol’s Simon Cowell is in it. Granted, it may not be as disturbing as an appearance by Pete Waterman, but it does show the extent of Cowell’s infiltration of US popular culture. Director David Zucker and his Naked Gun co-writer Pat Proft helm this entry in the horror-spoof franchise, which, though not as good as the original, is certainly an improvement on Scary Movie 2. This time around, television reporter Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) investigates a planned alien invasion of a farm owned by Tom (Charlie Sheen), while a mysterious video kills all who watch it. All kinds of references are dragged kicking and screaming into the bedraggled plot, from 8 Mile to The Others, and there are some inspired moments to be found along the way (Leslie Nielsen, here playing a goofy American president, is always a joy). But, because of the over-reliance on recycled gags, this is just not as funny as it thinks it is.