{"id":12992,"date":"2021-01-26T16:17:27","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T21:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=12992"},"modified":"2026-06-17T15:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:42:43","slug":"naked-gun-33-1-3-the-final-insult-1994","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=12992","title":{"rendered":"Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult-1994"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult-1994<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Peter Segal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Leslie Nielsen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,104<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed January 26, 2021<\/p>\n

Grade: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite being the third and final installment in the popular Naked Gun (1988-1994) franchise, Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult (1994) is my favorite of the trio, despite having a silly title.<\/p>\n

The title of “33 1\/3” is a reference to the resolutions per minute of an LP playing on a phonograph, a point that has nothing to do with the actual film.<\/p>\n

It was also inexplicably decided to omit the “The” from the title, leaving “Naked Gun” instead of “The Naked Gun.”<\/p>\n

Why is anyone’s guess? Nor does it matter.<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a great film, but it’s better than the other two, which is shocking in a spoof\/screwball comedy going for the standard gags.<\/p>\n

But, as dumb as the film is, it’s also kind of fun and lightweight.<\/p>\n

It’s like a needed chuckle that requires little thought after a rough day at the office.<\/p>\n

A familiar formula is followed, and this time the events culminate at the glorious Hollywood Oscar celebration, the apple in the eye of all Los Angeles, undoubtedly the main reason this effort is marginally enjoyable.<\/p>\n

For unfamiliar viewers, the Naked Gun films are a combination of Airplane! (1980-1982) and the over-exhausted Police Academy (1984-1994) franchises.<\/p>\n

The films were out of gas by 1994.<\/p>\n

The franchise is based on the short-lived television series Police Squad! (1982), a procedural comedy about bumbling police personnel and the situations they get themselves into to showcase their ineptness.<\/p>\n

The Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult was O.J. Simpson’s final role before he was damned for all eternity for his presumed role in the murder of his wife and her friend in a ritzy area of California.<\/p>\n

Leslie Nielsen returns as Frank Drebin, retired and living with his wife Jane (Priscilla Presley).<\/p>\n

Bored with life, they experience marital problems and seek counseling. Six months after Frank’s retirement, he is visited by Captain Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) and Officer Nordberg (Simpson), who ask for Frank’s help with an investigation.<\/p>\n

Police Squad has caught wind that mischievous bomber Rocco Dillon (Fred Ward), who is currently incarcerated, has been hired by terrorists to conduct a major bombing against the United States.<\/p>\n

As Frank tries to keep Jane from discovering that he is dabbling in detective work again, he jokes that he is having an affair to throw her off the scent.<\/p>\n

When she begins to suspect he is having an affair, it leads to a silly series of misunderstandings and gags, which, as is always the case in films like this, are naturally wrapped up.<\/p>\n

Nielsen is the main draw, and he does what he does best and what makes him the king of spoof films. A serious actor before Airplane!, he became a typecast but had lots of successes ahead of him.<\/p>\n

He embraces his role, which adds freshness. He doesn’t take himself so seriously that audiences can sit back and relax and enjoy the entertainment.<\/p>\n

The lavish awards ceremony and the ingenious idea of planting the bomb within the coveted Best Picture Oscar-sealed envelope are delicious, especially when the bomb is set to detonate when the card is pulled from the envelope, and the winner is crowned.<\/p>\n

This creates a good sense of suspense as the award show moves toward the big finale.<\/p>\n

George Kennedy has little to do, but it’s the inclusion of stars like Vanna White, Weird Al Yankovic, and Pia Zadora that add zest to the production.<\/p>\n

Director Peter Segal, famous for lightweight comedies with heart, is wise to keep the running time at a quick one hour and twenty-two minutes. If longer, any momentum the film musters would have disintegrated.<\/p>\n

This was his feature-length directorial debut.<\/p>\n

The Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult (1994) may be the best of the trio, but that says little, given it’s based on funnier, fresher endeavors.<\/p>\n

I champion the early Police Academy films for a needed dose of police incompetence and hilarity done up in a fun way. If one must watch a Naked Gun film and is partial to the Academy Awards, this one is begrudgingly suggested.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult-1994 Director Peter Segal Starring Leslie Nielsen Scott’s Review #1,104 Reviewed January 26, 2021 Grade: B- Despite being the third and final installment in the popular Naked Gun (1988-1994) franchise, Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult (1994) is my favorite of the trio, despite having a silly title. … Continue reading Naked Gun 33 1\/3: The Final Insult-1994<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8529,118,1869,11553,49,10391,5893,1029,867,1830,10392,10410,11552,1166,11554,1829,1590,3282,11551,1608,1828,11091,934,6985],"tags":[8531,119,1875,11557,252,10401,5898,1039,869,1833,10402,10400,11556,1167,11558,1832,1596,3287,11555,1613,1831,11094,937,6992],"class_list":["post-12992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weird-al-yankovic","category-1994-films","category-ann-b-davis","category-anna-nicole-smith","category-comedies","category-david-zucker","category-doris-belack","category-fred-ward","category-george-kennedy","category-james-earl-jones","category-jerry-zucker","category-jim-abrahams","category-kathleen-freeman","category-leslie-nielsen","category-mary-lou-retton","category-o-j-simpson","category-olympia-dukakis","category-paul-feig","category-peter-segal","category-pia-zadora","category-priscilla-presley","category-randall-tex-cobb","category-raquel-welch","category-vanna-white","tag-weird-al-yankovic","tag-1994-movie-reviews","tag-ann-b-davis","tag-anna-nicole-smith","tag-comedies","tag-david-zucker","tag-doris-belack","tag-fred-ward","tag-george-kennedy","tag-james-earl-jones","tag-jerry-zucker","tag-jim-abrahams","tag-kathleen-freeman","tag-leslie-nielsen","tag-mary-lou-retton","tag-o-j-simpson","tag-olympia-dukakis","tag-paul-feig","tag-peter-segal","tag-pia-zadora","tag-priscilla-presley","tag-randall-tex-cobb","tag-raquel-welch","tag-vanna-white"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12992"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23329,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12992\/revisions\/23329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}