WRONGFULLY ACCUSED
A movie review by Joe Barlow
(c) Copyright 1998
STARRING: Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crenna, Kelly LeBrock DIRECTOR: Pat Proft WRITER: Pat Proft RATED/YEAR: PG-13/1998
RATING: ** (out of a possible *****)
You may find it hard to believe, but Leslie Nielsen was once a highly-respected dramatic actor. From 1949 to 1980, he appeared in over 50 movies and countless television shows, including "M*A*S*H," "Forbidden Planet" and "The Big Valley." The talented actor had a well-deserved reputation for delivering solid, dramatic performances in any role he played.
But in 1980, Nielsen took a small part in the Zucker Brothers comedy "Airplane," and his life and career changed virtually overnight. In that film, Nielsen played a deadpan doctor whose services are desperately needed when an entire airline crew comes down with food poisoning in mid-flight. Nielsen's performance was so clever and droll that Hollywood immediately began offering him other comedic parts, including the lead role in the short-lived TV series "Police Squad" and its subsequent big-screen offspring, the "Naked Gun" films. So successful were these movies that Nielsen's "serious" work, which spans five decades, has been all but forgotten. It's a shame, too. Although I like "The Naked Gun" as much as anybody else, it would be wonderful to see him do another film in which he plays something more substantial than a loveable goofball.
Nielsen's latest offering, "Wrongfully Accused," is a parody of "The Fugitive," the popular Harrison Ford extravaganza. Ryan Harrison (Nielsen) is a famous concert violinist who is falsely accused of murder. After being arrested, he makes a daring escape while his...
Oh, it doesn't matter. You don't go see a film like this because it contains a riveting plot; you go because you want to see how Nielsen's character will screw up every situation he finds himself in THIS time. Along the way, we know we'll see some of Nielsen's famous slapstick, and catch a bunch of pop-culture injokes (I spotted parodies of "Casablanca," "Fatal Attraction," "Charlie's Angels," "Baywatch," "Fargo," "Braveheart," "Mission: Impossible," a none-too-subtle lampoon of "Titanic," and perhaps a dozen others). Oh, and we'll also get dialogue like:
NIELSEN: That dog has a strange look on his face.
WOMAN: That's because you're looking at his butt.
NIELSEN: Then he's certainly not going to enjoy
that treat I just fed him.
Since we can agree that the plot is pretty much irrelevant, let's focus instead on the humor factor. The good news: this is probably Nielsen's funniest movie since "The Naked Gun" trilogy. The bad news: that doesn't say much. His most recent outings, which include "Spy Hard" and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It," have been nothing more than painfully unfunny attempts to cash in on the Leslie Nielsen name-brand. Unfortunately, even an actor of Nielsen's considerable ability cannot rescue a movie that's only pretending to go through the motions; as such, these flicks fared dismally at the box office, and were soundly shredded by fans and critics alike.
Writer/director Pat Proft helms this latest offering, and he's obviously done his homework: this movie feels a lot like "Police Squad," with gags flying fast and furious. Unfortunately, it has the same problem that most Nielsen comedies have: a lack of restraint. Every gag that Proft can think of is included, regardless of whether it's actually funny or not; as such, the comedic effect is seriously compromised. The rare witty line or clever joke is a sure sign that the next gag will involve a man getting hit in the genitals or banged in the head with a frying pan. News flash: that's not funny, and never was. Can someone please explain to me why these kind of scenes are considered so brilliantly hysterical that they deserve to appear in EVERY comedy film that comes out?
The good news is, the jokes that DO work actually work pretty well. Particularly noteworthy is the entire opening sequence (which depicts Nielsen's character performing a violin concerto before an appreciative audience), as well as a later gag involving a runaway locomotive. An additional scene demonstrates the wrong way to use suntan lotion, a moment which for me was the movie's biggest laugh.
All in all, though, the film is nothing new, and Nielsen stays comfortably within the territory he's staked out since "Airplane." Apparently he's happy there; I just heard that he's signed on to do two more comedies: "Titanic Too: It Missed the Iceberg," and "2001: A Space Travesty." Zounds. Here's hoping that they're edited a little more liberally than their predecesers were. As it is, even though it runs a mere 90 minutes, "Wrongfully Accused" seems to drag on a bit too long.
Oh, by the way, don't believe the theater lobby poster, which lists Sandra Bernhardt as one of the film's stars: she appears for only a single fifteen-second scene.
E-Mail: jbarlow@earthling.net Joe Barlow on Film: http://www.ipass.net/~jbarlow/film.htm
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