The Naked Gun star makes a heartfelt plea for an embattled genre.
The Naked Gun is just around the corner. The comedy reboot is hitting cinemas next month, and that alone makes it a rare breed. Fewer and fewer studio comedies are getting theatrical releases these days, instead being relegated to streaming platforms. There was a time when sequels to A Simple Favor and Happy Gilmore, both massive box office earners, would never have skipped a theatrical roll-out. Sadly, those days are long gone.
It’s a serious problem. To underline the importance of the issue, here’s deadpan legend Liam Neeson.
The Naked Gun PSA
What’s the plot?
Behold the typically skimpy official synopsis:
Only one man has the particular set of skills… to lead Police Squad and save the world! Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father’s footsteps in The Naked Gun, directed by Akiva Schaffer (Saturday Night Live, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and from producer Seth MacFarlane (Ted, Family Guy).
Eh, it’s probably not important.
Who’s in it?
- Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
- Pamela Anderson as Beth, and gosh it’s cool to see her again.
- Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.
- Moses Jones as Nordberg Jr.
- Danny Huston as Richard Cane, and he’s definitely the bad guy, yeah?
- Kevin Durand
- Danny Huston
- Liza Koshy
- Cody Rhodes
- CCH Pounder
- Busta Rhymes
- Michael Bisping
- Eddy Yu
When’s it out?
The Naked Gun hits Australian cinemas on August 21, 2025.
What’s the vibe?
The Naked Gun is ticking all the right boxes for me. The marketing so far has been brilliant -just a tsunami of superb silliness. They’re definitely taking advantage of a little-appreciated axiom: the best way to get people along to a comedy movie is to just be funny. Which shouldn’t be some kind of deep wisdom, but here we are.
And remember, for the price of one movie ticket, you can help rescue a comedy.