For sheer goof-ball exuberance, you needn't look any further than "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!". Leslie Nielsen remains forever associated with the role of inept Lt. Frank Drebin, who always tries to do the right thing but always makes a mess of everything. Here, he's trying to foil an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth. Since this is from the people behind "Airplane!", it means that much of the humor derives from twisted dialogue and things popping out of the background. To crown it all, there's even a guest appearance by "Weird Al" Yankovic as himself. Also starring are Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, and Ricardo Montalban.

And to think that Leslie Nielsen started out in movies like "Forbidden Planet"!

ZAZ's(David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker) The Naked Gun is one of the funniest (if not funniest) film ever with more parodies and gags than one could ever imagine. And the writing is if not good, great that never lets up (even through the finale baseball game with Reggie Jackson).

But what really gets this film up there is it's main characters. Leslie Nielson has never been better and probably won;t ever be this good ever again. He brings an insane type of humor from a cop that hasn't been seen since Clouseau. The supporting characters are good also, including Priscilla Pressley, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montebaum, Nancy Marchand and (odd to see him in a movie today) OJ Simpson. There zany characters and added with a great script make this a treasure in cinema comedy. One of the best films of the 80's. A++

This is the first of three Naked Gun movies...a trio of films which continued the goofiness from the prematurely canceled TV series, "Police Squad". Of the three, this one is probably the best...though I should point out that the opening scene is very dated. I am not complaining...more pointing out that younger viewers might have no idea who the villains are supposed to be. But regardless, it is a funny scene...even if you have no idea who Ayatollah Khomeini or any of the other villains are.

The story is, quite simply, insane and stupid. Inspector Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is out to stop an evil man from killing the queen of England during a visit to Los Angeles....but all this is just an excuse for one rapid-fire joke after another....just like the filmmakers' previous films, "Airplane!" and "Airplane II".

The bottom line is that while some jokes fail, they come so often and are so ridiculous that you cannot help but laugh. And, we could all use a good laugh...which is why I am rating this one a 9.