Akiva Schaffer’s new take on THE NAKED GUN sends up both the cop-story cliches that inspired the 1988 Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker original and the modern action tropes littering the filmography of star Liam Neeson, but at heart it’s less a genre parody than a spoof of nostalgia reboots like, well, this one. That meta layer is a major distinction between Schaffer’s film and the original, but it’s not the only one, so in between rehashing some of our favorite bits we attempt to determine where the new film’s ZAZ homage ends and its specific comedic sensibility begins. Then in Connections we use the many elements these two films share — bumbling cops and femmes fatale, a blend of timely and timeless humor, guns — to further distinguish between their approaches to satire, spoofery, and slapstick. And in Your Next Picture Show, our resident Quaid offers a recommendation for Schaffer’s podcast with his Lonely Island compatriots and Seth Meyers.
Please share your thoughts about any and all NAKED GUNs, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.
Next Pairing: Zach Cregger’s WEAPONS and Atom Egoyan’s THE SWEET HEREAFTER
Intro: 00:00:00-00:02:10
The Naked Gun 2025 discussion: 00:02:10 - 00:28:04
The Naked Gun 1988/2025 Connections: 00:28:04 - 00:55:54
Your Next Picture Show and goodbyes: 00:55:54-end
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