The Naked Gun 1988

Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune: The Naked Gun is hugely funny, but it`s also liberating-precisely because it centers its aim on that cold, closed system and blows it apart. The straight lines are shattered; the empty spaces in the images are packed full until they burst. Read more

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: It gave me about 10 big laughs and 20 small laughs and as many smiles. That`s value for time and money spent. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times: In the years since he first played Drebin, Nielsen has deepened the role, made it more subtle, more universal, more paramount. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: If your expectations are low enough, you might find a way to enjoy occasional moments in the movie. Read more

Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer: The two Zuckers and Abrahams have, surprisingly, forgotten a principle of parody that they taught everyone else. Namely, that the jokes have to fit, and that they have to refer to the target -- in this instance police movies. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Like the ZAZ lads' other films, this is a movie made for a VCR Saturday night. They supply the jokes; you bring the microwave popcorn and modest expectations. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: High spirits may be all that a film like this really needs. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Not quite up to Airplane! or Top Secret!, but there are still laughs aplenty. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film is as transparent as a third-grader with a water gun, and yet I would rather review a new film by Ingmar Bergman, for there, at least, would be themes to discuss and visual strategies to analyze. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: The endlessly tasteless juvenilia should make you ashamed of laughing yourself into a stupor. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: The Naked Gun is crass, broad, irreverent, wacky fun -- and absolutely hilarious from beginning to end. Read more