Ed Helms to Star as Frank Drebin in 'The Naked Gun' Reboot

When Leslie Nielsen passed away in 2010 he left behind a strong body of work making people laugh for a lot of years. And while he'll of course be remembered for Airplane! ("Don't call me Shirley."), what most people are going to recall first is The Naked Gun, and his role as moronic but dogged detective Sgt. Frank Drebin. Nielsen starred in three movies of varying quality, but the first was always the best, and because it was so good (il)logic says it needs to be remade.

Paramount Pictures is planning to remake The Naked Gun, and have set Ed Helms to try and fill Nielsen's shoes as Drebin. Good luck with that. The film is being written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, whose Reno 911! was clearly inspired by Police Squad!, the 1982 TV series that spawned The Naked Gun flicks.

The 1980s were a high point for spoof films, and The Naked Gun was one of the best, although I'd probably put Top Secret! (everything had a friggin' exclamation point back then) just ahead of it. Nielsen was never more at home than as Drebin, with his deadpan delivery and impeccable grasp of physical comedy, he remained hilarious even as the trilogy lost some of its steam. Obviously, this remake sounds like a terrible idea and I don't envy Helms or the writers because this thing is going to get scrutinized to death, as well it should. [Variety]


The Naked Gun : From the Files of the Police Squad (1989) - Official Trailer [VO-HD] by Eklecty-City.fr