The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear

PG-13

1991

1h 25m

Comedy

TRAILER

for The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear: Trailer 1

List

58%

45 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) returns for more madcap high jinks in this police-procedural spoof. Powerful energy corporations are intent on putting a halt to the eco-friendly plans of Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), the new U.S. energy czar. They scheme to replace Meinheimer with an imposter who will do their bidding. Unfortunately for them, Drebin gets tangled up with their plans while trying to steal back his ex (Priscilla Presley) from her slimy new beau (Robert Goulet).

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 20

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Max

Watch The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear delivers a handful of moderate laughs, but overall, its strained antics pale in comparison to its gut-busting predecessor.

Read Critics Reviews

Stephen D

The critic score on this movie is another reminder why "Professional Movie Critic" is not a valid job.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

Full Review

Jeff M

The NAKED GUN movies are like finding a favorite brand of laundry detergent or a favorite recipe of fried chicken - there are lots of others out there, but this is just a bit better than all of the rest. Often MUCH better than all of the rest. That being said, this is definitely the weakest of the trilogy; but considering I am still giving it **** is proof positive what I think about these movies. This one is a bit more topical than the other two, particularly considering how often George and Barbara Bush are featured, so this installment feels less timeless than the other two. Although poor Barbara's mishaps at the hands of Drebin are among the funniest bits here - they bookmark the whole movie. My personal favorite scene is a dance number between Drebin and Jane that becomes increasingly more advanced until it looks like Derek and Julianne Hough by the end. Nielsen and Presley were born to play these parts, and their obvious good-natured playfulness is a big part of their success. 2 1/2 feels like it has a bit more adult humor in it than the others; and this one gets more laughs out of the sight gags than the verbal humor. I suppose these three films are to comedy what the GODFATHER trilogy is to drama. This one would be the GODFATHER III of the lost, but I still treasure it nonetheless. Nielsen will always and forever by my hero.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/24

Full Review

Nico B

Still funny as hell.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

yahel p

not really that funny, and the juice ran off half in the movie, just like in real life

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

Full Review

Red T

Wow...Comedy sequels have a terrible record on par with horror sequels. But this bucks the trend. It's a solid movie that retains a lot of what made the first work. The acting is very good mainly powered by the really strong joke pool. 90% of the time it got a laugh. I would say it wasn't as many grand slams as the first but it was always making me laugh at one point or another throughout. The jokes are a great mixture of witty wordplay, slap stick, spoof, and great delivery. Ed, Jane, Frank are great especially Jane who I was shocked has really good delivery of the humor on par with the first. OJ is in this way more and has great slapstick as well. The villian isn't as good. He's ok mainly because he doesn't get much screen time. The music isn't bad but it isn't as catchy or memorable as the first outside of the title track. The editing is solid also and its paced quite well even though it is on the shorter side. The only issues really are the first 5 minute intro is a bit too slap sticky for my taste and was too over the top but once it settled in it really found a consistent rhythm. Also the plot is a bit more complex here and it isn't always easy to follow what the story is surprisingly. I did get the general idea though, but while this almost always gets laughs it does a lot of times sacrifice storytelling for laughs which is the main reason I was lost sometimes. I still had fun though. The cinematography is good also with really the only issue being Jane & Frank getting back together is the same story as last time and there really isn't many new characters or development. However what makes up for that is the humor is really good. This wouldn't work as well if the jokes weren't solid. Anyone who is a comedy fan, fan of any actors in this, ZAZ fans, or the franchise will like this. It's a ZAZ Classic and a surprisingly fun one!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/15/23

Full Review

Kris C

Leslie Neilson is hilarious. Laughs all the way through!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/05/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

David Zucker

Director

Leslie Nielsen

Det. Lt. Frank Drebin

Priscilla Presley

Jane Spencer

George Kennedy

Det. Captain Ed Hocken

O.J. Simpson

Det. Nordberg

Robert Goulet

Quentin Hapsburg

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Boxing Knowledge

1:22

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Frank Has the Blues

2:10

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - What A Drag

1:30

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Wheelchair Mayhem

1:07

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Frank the Tank

2:13

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Pulling the Plug

1:40

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Final Requests

1:20

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - Interrogating Almost Dead Guys

0:53

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - She Reminds Me of Mom

1:39

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear: Official Clip - What Are You Trying To Tell Me?

1:54

View more videos

58%

53%

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

TRAILER

for Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

74%

63%

Soapdish

75%

63%

Addams Family Values

TRAILER

for Addams Family Values

48%

41%

We're No Angels

40%

90%

Tommy Boy

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Naked Gun Trivia with Grae Drake

The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear: Trailer 1

2:04

View more videos

View more photos

Terrence Rafferty

New Yorker

Nielsen combines B-movie earnestness, exuberant mugging, and a trouper's slightly desperate cheerfulness: he turns this rather alarming character into a sweet, ebullient lunatic -- albeit one who's hell on innocent bystanders.

May 6, 2014

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

A feeble sequel.

Jan 11, 2008

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Even if the laugh machine isn't operating at top efficiency, it still cranks out a few choice bits of irreverent lunacy.

Jan 11, 2008

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Video Review

This very frothy farce is more pointedly political -- refreshingly so -- than almost any "serious" movie in recent memory.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 2, 2023

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

The first one wasn't good, the second is despicable. [Full review in Spanish]

Jan 5, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...the movie’s proliferation of appealing elements ensures that it remains quite engaging from beginning to end...

Rated: 3/4

Jul 10, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) returns for more madcap high jinks in this police-procedural spoof. Powerful energy corporations are intent on putting a halt to the eco-friendly plans of Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), the new U.S. energy czar. They scheme to replace Meinheimer with an imposter who will do their bidding. Unfortunately for them, Drebin gets tangled up with their plans while trying to steal back his ex (Priscilla Presley) from her slimy new beau (Robert Goulet).

Director: David Zucker
Producer: Jim Abrahams, Gil Netter, Jerry Zucker
Screenwriter: David Zucker, Pat Proft
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $84.3M
Runtime: 1h 25m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now