I see that some Hollywood geniuses have decided to reboot “The Naked Gun,” with Liam Neeson ostensibly playing the Leslie Nielsen role (although we’re told he’s that character’s son). Sure, the 1988 original remains problematic because the cast included OJ Simpson, but it deserves a spot in the satire hall of fame. The creators (Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker) had already sharpened their teeth on “Airplane!” and the short-lived “Police Squad” TV series that gave birth to “The Naked Gun.” Jim Abrahams even branched out with the similarly silly “Hot Shots,” starring Charlie Sheen.
The 2025 “Naked Gun” remake comes from writer/director Akiva Schaffer, best known for his work with Andy Samberg (yawn!). It’s produced by Seth MacFarlane, who seems not to understand the most important rule in making funny movies or TV shows — no one on screen should ever give away that they’re in a comedy. That’s why Leslie Nielsen was so great as Lt. Frank Drebin in “The Naked Gun.” He played every line and scene with a seriously straight face and brilliant timing.
Such a project makes me wonder again why Hollywood bothers remaking good (or great) movies when there are so many bad movies that could be tweaked and turned into something new. It all comes down to re-using whatever intellectual property rights a studio holds and then trying to squeeze every dollar out of them.
Yet you’d think film executives would have learned from the mistakes of the past, including the Russell Brand remake of “Arthur,” which served only as proof that Brand was no Dudley Moore. The same was true of the remake of “Total Recall” with Colin Farrell in a role designed for Arnold Schwarzenegger (does the phrase “different body types” mean anything to you?). Or “The Karate Kid” with Will Smith’s son Jaden nowhere near as endearing as Ralph Macchio in the original.
Want more examples? Don’t even bother with the remake of “Robocop,” or Chris Klein proving he’s no James Caan in “Rollerball,” or Steve Martin attempting the impossible by playing one of Peter Sellers’ best-known characters, Inspector Clouseau, in “The Pink Panther” — not just once, but twice!
It’s not only guy movies that fall into the reboot hole. Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, and Debra Messing were all wasted in the 2008 version of “The Women.” The Madonna-led redo of “Swept Away,” directed by her then-husband Guy Ritchie, was so weak its images barely made it from the projector to the screen.
Of course, none of those sucked quite as much Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” with Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche coming nowhere near the original stars, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. There are legendary filmmakers (Hitchcock certainly qualifies) whose work is so iconic it should be against the law to tamper with, copy, or redo. I can’t even imagine anyone trying to update anything from the filmographies of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Billy Wilder, Spike Lee, and Sidney Lumet. From the comedy ranks, I’d start with Charlie Chaplin, then add Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Nora Ephron, and, yes, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker.
Considering how much money has been lost when revamps failed at the box office, I have to wonder if the reason they were green-lighted in the first place was more than simple greed. Maybe the heads of the studios didn’t have enough Golden Raspberry Awards on their shelves.