| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | |
| Director: | David Zucker |
| Producer: | Robert K. Weiss |
| Starring: |
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| Cinematography: | Robert M. Stevens |
| Editing: |
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| Music: | Ira Newborn |
| Studio: | |
| Distributor: | Paramount Pictures |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $23 million |
| Gross: | $192 million[3] |
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is a 1991 American crime comedy film. It is the sequel to the 1988 film and the second installment in The Naked Gun film series. The film stars Leslie Nielsen as the comically bumbling Police Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad!. Priscilla Presley plays the role of Jane, with O. J. Simpson as Nordberg and George Kennedy as police captain Ed Hocken. The film also features Robert Goulet (who previously made a "special guest star" appearance on Police Squad!) as the villainous Quentin Hapsburg and Richard Griffiths as renewable fuel advocate Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (as well as his evil double, Earl Hacker). Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mel Tormé and members of the Chicago Bears have cameo roles.
David Zucker returns from the first entry as director and screenwriter of the film. Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker serve as executive producers for the film and receive writing credit due to their contributions to the first entry of the series and the Police Squad! television series. However, neither contributed to the screenplay for the film. The film was a box office success, grossing $192 million against a budget of $23 million. It received mixed reviews from critics, who concluded it to be inferior to its predecessor. A third installment in the series, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, was released in 1994.
At the White House, President George H. W. Bush announces that he will base the country's energy policy on the recommendations of Dr. Albert Meinheimer. The heads of the coal, oil, and nuclear power industries are upset by the President's decision as Dr. Meinheimer plans to advocate for renewable energy. Jane Spencer, now separated from Frank Drebin, is working late at Dr. Meinheimer's research institute when she spots a suspicious man leaving in a van. A maintenance worker finds a clock with dynamite attached and takes it to the security guards, who accidentally trigger an explosion.
The next morning, Frank is reunited with Jane as he investigates the bombing. He also meets Jane's new boyfriend, Hexagon Oil executive Quentin Hapsburg, and becomes exceedingly jealous. Later that evening, Frank and his boss Ed Hocken meet up at a blues bar. Jane finds Frank at the bar, and they get into an argument, after which Jane storms out. Elsewhere, Hapsburg holds a secret meeting of the energy industry leaders where he reveals his plan for changing Dr. Meinheimer's speech. Hapsburg introduces them to Earl Hacker, a dead ringer for Dr. Meinheimer who will take Dr. Meinheimer's place and deliver a speech recommending more fossil fuels. Dr. Meinheimer is kidnapped by Hapsburg's goons, who tie him up and leave him in a warehouse.
Police Squad tracks down Hector Savage, the man whom Jane saw on the night of the bombing. Savage leads them on a short chase that ends in a standoff at a nearby house. While Savage negotiates with the police, Frank drives a SWAT tank through the house and allows Savage to flee. Frank loses control of the tank and crashes into the city zoo, causing the animals to escape. At a party later that evening, Frank notices that Dr. Meinheimer does not remember meeting him despite having a photographic memory. Frank visits Jane at her apartment after the party and asks if Dr. Meinheimer had been acting strange. After Frank leaves, Savage breaks into Jane's apartment and tries to kill her in the shower. Frank intervenes and kills Savage. Jane realizes she still loves Frank and the two rekindle their romance.
The next day, Police Squad stakes out the warehouse where Dr. Meinheimer is being held captive. Frank tries to sneak into the building but is captured and tied up with Dr. Meinheimer. They are freed by Police Squad and head to the Press Club Dinner to stop Hacker. Jane agrees to open a locked door to let them in, but she is interrupted by Hapsburg. Frank, Ed, Nordberg, and Dr. Meinheimer steal a mariachi band's costumes and sneak inside. Ed captures Hacker and gets a confession from him, causing Hapsburg to take Jane hostage and flee the dinner. Frank pursues Hapsburg to the roof where he learns that Hapsburg has rigged up a small nuclear device which will kill everyone in the building. Frank catches Hapsburg and attempts to learn the bomb's disarming code but Ed throws Hapsburg out a window. Miraculously, Hapsburg bounces off an awning and lands on the sidewalk unscathed, only to be killed by an escaped lion from the zoo.
Frank and Jane try to disarm the bomb while Ed and Nordberg go back into the ballroom to evacuate it. Frank finally disarms the bomb at the last second by tripping over and unplugging the power cord. Frank is commended by the President, who offers him a special post as head of a new Federal Bureau of Police Squad. Frank declines and instead proposes marriage to Jane, which she accepts.
As with the first Naked Gun film, the original music for the second installment was composed and orchestrated by veteran soundtrack composer Ira Newborn, including the familiar big-band/blues theme for the Naked Gun/Police Squad! franchise. Several of the orchestral movements revolve around two other Newborn pieces: "Drebin - Hero!" (used at the top of the pre-credit sequence, from the Paramount-logo animation onward) and the romantic "Thinking of Him" (immediately after the credits). Seasoned Broadway and film singer/actress Colleen Fitzpatrick plays a saloon singer at a sad-sack restaurant called the Blue Note, to which a depressed Detective Lieutenant Drebin repairs after seeing his former girlfriend Jane Spencer being wooed by the villain Quentin Hapsburg. This role has frequently been attributed to singer Vitamin C who happens to share the same name, but this is incorrect.[4]
| The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (Original Soundtrack) | |
| Type: | soundtrack |
| Artist: | Ira Newborn |
| Released: | 1991 |
| Recorded: | 1991 |
| Genre: | Big Band |
| Length: | 35:46 |
| Label: | Varèse Sarabande |
| Producer: | Ira Newborn Robert Townson (executive producer) |
In conjunction with the second Naked Gun film, Varèse Sarabande released a soundtrack combining the best Newborn compositions from the first two films. The full scores for The Naked Gun trilogy, along with source music and alternate cues as bonus material, was released in 2014 by La-La-Land Records.
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear knocked from the top spot at the box office.[5] It grossed $86.9 million in the United States and Canada and did even better internationally, grossing $105 million for a worldwide total of $192 million against a reported budget of $23 million.[3] It was the 10th best performing movie of 1991 in the United States.[6]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear delivers a handful of moderate laughs, but overall, its strained antics pale in comparison to its gut-busting predecessor."[7] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly awarded it a B+, but observed that in some ways, it was "the most predictable of the ZAZ films."[9] In the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan stated that the funniest things about the movie were the title, the credits, and the key art.[10]
This film was released on January 16, 1992 on VHS and Laserdisc by Paramount Home Entertainment. This film has released on August 15, 2000 on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment.