If there is a field in which we did not expect Liam Neeson, it is comedy. Accustomed to the roles of impassive guards and hard -to -tok – Taken has Without identitygoing through Non-stop EITHER The passenger – The Irish actor has established himself as an essential figure in the action cinema and forged an image of an ice cream and indestructible man, always ready for battle.
It is difficult to imagine to happen to Frank Drebin, mythical Gaffeur cop to perfectly embodied Leslie Nielsen (died in 2010), in Is there a police officer to save the world?New part of the Zaz Saga (Trio formed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker), Masters of the Wacky Parody, on the cinemas this Wednesday, August 13.
With this casting choice, the bet was daring to director Akiva Schaffer (Neighbors of the third type, Popstar: never stop stopping). Especially since the unbridled humor of Zaz, between the scandalous parody and the avalanche of visual gags, which has shaped the comic spirit of an entire generation, is a great inheritance, at a time when the crazy comedy has never seemed so popular among film studies.
Shock duo with Pamela Anderson
However, from the first seconds of Is there a police officer to save the world?Liam Neeson takes the challenge without a doubt. The actor plays Frank Drebin Jr., son of the famous Loco Inspector Frank Drebin, who also pays a brief tribute to the beginning of the film, gathering in front of a commemorative plaque in his effigy.
While his father had tried to save the Queen of England, the president of the United States and Hollywood, Drebin Jr., who became a Lepd lieutenant, now must save the world (just that), by investigating the death of the developer Simon Davenport, a strange murder that actually hides the maquiavelic plans of a technological magnate, rich in humanity.
But, during his investigation, Liam Neeson, supported by Captain Ed Hocken Jr., son of the faithful partner of Drebin, previously embodied by George Kennedy, will make a meeting that will bother something of his investigation: that of Beth Davenport, sister of the sick and authorized, embodied by a Pamela Anderson as attractive.
The peculiar and complicit duo: he, the abrupt police and she female fatale, Frank and Beth will be gradually domesticated, until they fall in love. A romance born on the screen, and that crossed fiction since the two actors formalized their partner during the promotion of the film.
Faithful humor to the Zaz
But Drebin Jr.’s research is also scored by recurrent absurd gags, crazy words games and hollywood shots, faithful to the DNA of the original films, without, however, calculate them.
With each new plan, Frank and ED in the good addicts to the police to coffee are bringing two huge cups, which throw after a single sip, whatever the situation they are in.
When Drebin Jr. discovers the scene of the Simon Davenport car accident, a brochure also lifts the deceased vehicle in the manner of a food machine, a visual delay perfectly in the burlesque spirit of the Zaz.
Because of its legendary discomfort, Drebin Jr. also allows you to escape during the one hundred detainees, including Hannibal Lecter Silence of the Lamb. In the interrogation, the lieutenant also transmits the images of his camera in his body, trying to find a suspect, before realizing that during his day, he also filmed despite his emergency visit to the bathroom after eating a sandwich on the dubious expiration date.
Much more rebellious and disappointed, but as fun as its predecessor, Liam Neeson offers like this Is there a police officer to save the world? A revised version of Leslie Nielsen’s character. A lieutenant who is impassive and serious with any test, but also sensitive and addicted to black -eyed peas, to Buffy against vampires and Sex and city. For this tasty discrepancy, the actor derives all the taciturn vigilantes that he has gathered since then Taken And it is essential as a worthy heir to Frank Drebin
A successful tribute, despite some lengths
But it does not reach the ankle of the zaz you want. If casting is solid and convincing, the intrigue of Is there a police officer to save the world? Fishing a little in its last half hour. Sometimes we feel some heaviness, like this falsely erotic and completely crazy sex scene between Frank and Beth in the mountain, interrupted by the surreal appearance of a snowman that will try to kill them. The grand final is also a bit slow.
In spite of everything, without reaching the absurd heights of the Zaz, Is there a police officer to save the world? Find your tone, between tribute and risk of writing. Liam Neeson, where we did not expect it, goes out with a lazy dramator and gives a breath of freshness to the American comedy.
Source: BFM TV
