Overview
A bumbling cop takes on corporate villains in a hilarious quest to save the future of energy.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- irreverent
- deadpan
- lazy sunday
- comedy night
What critics said
Critics generally found the sequel entertaining and intermittently funny, while agreeing that its strained, predictable gags were weaker than those of the original.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot lampoons energy conglomerates, government leadership, and corporate efforts to suppress an unfavorable scientific report.
Frank Drebin responds to kidnappings, political intrigue, and escalating disasters with straight-faced confidence and literal-minded behavior.
The film's humor relies heavily on visual gags, clumsy policing, farcical collisions, and increasingly excessive comic set pieces.
Dr. Meinheimer's energy report motivates the kidnapping, replacement scheme, and Drebin's investigation.
Films like The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, and why
The Naked Gun
shares broad slapstick parody, deadpan delivery, and incompetent law-enforcement comedy
Hot Shots!
shares rapid-fire spoof humor, physical comedy, and genre parody built around an inept protagonist
Police Academy
shares absurd police satire, broad physical gags, and irreverent comic escalation
Airplane!
shares spoof conventions, deadpan comic performances, and farcical action-comedy structure
Movie Details
- Director
- David Zucker
- Release Date
- 1991-06-28
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (2889)
Cast
- Leslie Nielsen
- Priscilla Presley
- George Kennedy
- O. J. Simpson
- Robert Goulet
- Richard Griffiths
- Jacqueline Brookes
- Anthony James
- Lloyd Bochner
- Tim O'Connor
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear about?
- A disastrously earnest police lieutenant battles an energy-industry conspiracy through shameless slapstick, romantic chaos, and deadpan parody.
- What is The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear as mild.
- What did critics think of The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear?
- Critics generally found the sequel entertaining and intermittently funny, while agreeing that its strained, predictable gags were weaker than those of the original.
- Which films are like The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear?
- Films with a similar feel include The Naked Gun, Hot Shots!, Police Academy, and Airplane!.
- How long is The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear?
- The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear?
- In United States, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
