Policeman: Drunk, Frank?
Frank Drebin Jr.: A little, just enough to wake me up.
– Frank Jr. (Liam Neeson) in The Naked Gun
Audiences crave laughter just like they do thrills, chills, drama, and romance. But where there’s a deluge of horror, romance, and action, there’s a noticeable dearth of comedy. Not quippy superheroes, not silly moments amid terror, but balls-to-the-wall comedy unafraid to be stoopid in the quest for a giant guffaw. You know the kind, the laughter that starts in your belly and just erupts out of you, bringing with it waves of dopamine as the silliness refuses to quit. Fans of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), co-directed by Akiva Schaffer and starring fellow Lonely Island members Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Jorma Taccone (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), know this feeling all too well. Schaffer delivers much of the same comedic goods in Naked Gun series sequel The Naked Gun. Having hit theaters and pounded on Paramount+, it’s ready to tackle you head-on at home, bringing with it over an hour of bonus materials to investigate.
If you’re interested in a spoiler-free exploration, head to EoM Founder Douglas Davidson’s spoiler-free theatrical review.
L-R: Actor Pamela Anderson and director Akiva Schaffer on the set of THE NAKED GUN from Paramount Pictures. © 2025 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Every day, Police Squad member Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) works to keep the streets of Los Angelos safe from crimes big and small. However, after breaking protocol during a bank heist, Frank Jr. and partner Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) are moved into a new department where they pick up a car crash case. Despite strict instructions from Chief Davis (CCH Pounder), Frank can’t seem to help himself upon meeting the victim’s sister, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), who suspects her brother’s boss, tech magnate Richard Cane (Richard Huston), as being behind her brother’s death. Motivated by his oath to Police Squad, the woman who intrigues him, and maintaining his father’s legacy, Frank Jr. will not stop until the killer is caught and justice served.
The following is based on a Blu-ray retail copy provided by Paramount Pictures via Alliance Entertainment.
Having written a fairly lengthy spoiler-free review already, let’s dive into the home edition before adding anything else about the film proper.
First of all, be advised that the 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions are single-disc releases. This means that the included bonus features will take up space on the respective discs rather than other Paramount home release titles which include a Blu-ray disc to house both an HD version of the film and hold the bonus features. This may impact the overall bitrate of the 4K UHD presentation, but, this cannot be confirmed at this time as that was not the disc provided and tech specs for the physical disc editions were not provided.
What is confirmable is that this home release understands that fans will want to dig in more and this offers six different featurettes, two different outtake montages (one for the film and one just for the UFC portion), and a series of 16 sequences that were either deleted, extended, or are alternates to those in the film. The six featurettes range from looking at the project from a larger perspective (“A Legacy of Laughter”), Neeson’s involvement (“Son of a (Naked) Gun”), Anderson’s contributions (“The Funny Femme Fatale”), a look at the larger cast and their contributions (“The Really Unusual Suspects”), a look behind the scenes of the set-within-a-set gag (“On Set of a Set Within a Set That’s in a Set”), and the bag drop gag in the UFC sequence (“Dropping the Balls”). Be advised that there are two mock ads, Gorilla Nut and Muscle Slime, available on the iTunes digital edition that are not included with the Blu-ray edition. While the structure of each one is a mix between on-set footage and cast talking head portions (which often feel more promotional-based than investigative), their purpose is clear and singular: to divulge as much as they can about their topic without repeating anything that might appear in another segment. Considering the number of featurettes and each of their focuses, that there’s no overlap in commentary or reveal impresses and highlights the intent of each one as sometimes quality gets sacrificed in the name of quantity (hoping viewers don’t notice or are ok with it).
Danny Huston plays Richard Cane in THE NAKED GUN from Paramount Pictures. © 2025 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Conversely, as much fun as the film is (and it’s a gatling gun of laughs), it walks a tricky path as it tries to marry the old with the new. Frank Jr. and Beth are basically just Frank and Jane (Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley, respectively) for a “new generation”. It’s in quotes because the audience that grew up on the Naked Gun films (or any other ZAZ property), the Wayans-created Scary Movie franchise, and the myriads of spoof films born off the back of the Scary Movie success are the same adults lining up to see Frank Jr.. It’s a targeted audience and an absolute risk. However, the jokes play on such levels that one doesn’t have to have grown up on ZAZ-style humor to follow. Police procedurals are more ubiquitous than ever, as are the lingo and tropes associated with them, meaning that no one really needs to explain why a room labelled “Cold Cases” has someone wearing freezer gear walking out of it, why Beth drags a Police Squad chair behind her as she leaves, or the set-within-a-set joke inspired by Mission: Impossible (series and film franchise). Additionally, and just because it’s worth noting its origin/operator, audiences have enough grounding in the genre not to question why the hell a Jim Henson’s Creature Shop-built and operated creature is involved during an elongated Frank/Beth romance sequence. When the film leans too hard on the familiar, the jokes lack lasting impact, but, when they trust the audience to go with it on their own merits, like Beth scatting, The Naked Gun feels like spoof comedy reborn.
L-R; Director Akiva Schaffer and actors Liam Neeson and Paul Walter Hauser on the set of THE NAKED GUN from Paramount Pictures. © 2025 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
In the original theatrical review, I dove into the inclusion of humor that supports law enforcement as a thing to laugh at, thereby reducing the actual harmfulness that unchecked authority can cause, so I won’t dive into it again. Instead, taking the film as it is, an opportunity to give oneself over to pure joy, The Naked Gun not only delivers, it continues to do so as home-viewers can pause, rewind, and otherwise use the tools of control to search every frame for the jokes planted by the writing staff and production design team that run rampant throughout. The Naked Gun possesses a certain set of skills and being on home video means you can enjoy all of them whenever you like.
The Naked Gun Special Features:
- A Legacy of Laughter (8:57)
- Son of a (Naked) Gun (6:00)
- The Funny Femme Fatale (4:33)
- The Really Unusual Suspects (4:23)
- On Set of a Set Within a Set That’s in a Set (3:42)
- Dropping the Balls (3:27)
- Two (2) Outtake Montages (12:29)
- Sixteen (16) Deleted, Alternate, and Extended Scenes (16:34)
- Two (2) Mock Ads (0:46)*
*Available on the iTunes digital edition
Available on Paramount+ September 30th, 2025.
Available on VOD and digital September 2nd, 2025.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD November 11th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Paramount Pictures The Naked Gun webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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