The Naked Gun is out now in theaters and it’s seemingly revitalizing the comedy genre for movie theaters. The film is absolutely hilarious and stars Liam Neeson. It almost had a reference to another of Neeson’s famous movies though. Our friend Brandon Davis of Phase Hero sat down with the director Avika Schaffer and talked about the film and what almost made the cut.

“We had versions of moments where we’d like or make you think. He’s about to say that. Yeah, I think it’s one character or have another character do a really obvious and Liam just stares at him for a while, like not taking the bait to not say, you know what I mean. There was a moment where in one draft where Beth, that’s Pamela Anderson’s character, was going to get taken in the third act like kidnapped by the bad guy. And there was definitely all kinds of moments where you’d get off the phone and be like, ‘She’s been taken.’ And then just sit there for like, 30 seconds of staring at the wall, you know what I mean? Like just hating ourselves for doing it.”

The Naked Gun prides itself on being original while also using the previous series as a jumping off point for jokes. Schaffer continued with why they didn’t include the scene after all.

“It’s just like he says, you know, I want to be just like you, but original, but completely different and original. I really tried to not do legacy movie fan service.”

What Did We Think Of The Naked Gun?

In our 93% review of The Naked Gun we highlighted the originality of the humor and that the jokes are a mile a minute.

The jokes are a mile a minute in The Naked Gun. If you wanted to laugh, you will 100% laugh during this movie. There are absurd jokes, straight-forward jokes, jokes in the background, visual jokes, physical gags, and Liam Neeson just straight up making a fool out of himself. There are sexually suggestive jokes in the film, but it never outright verges into full-on expletive-laden humor. That, at the heart of the film, is what makes this so special. People of all ages are going to find something funny here. There are so many jokes that I missed some of them in the screening because the audience was laughing so hard and so loudly. This is the type of comedy that you’ll notice small things in the background that you missed after rewatching.

The Naked Gun stars Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Liza Koshy, with Cody Rhodes and Busta Rhymes. It comes from director Akiva Schaffer and writers Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Schaffer. It’s a “legacy sequel” to the original series, but those legacy elements are played more for laughs than anything really relating to the plot.

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Source: Brandon Davis/Phase Hero

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‘The Naked Gun’ Review – A Gut-Busting Return Of Comedy To Movie Theaters