Wrongfully Accused

Wrongfully Accused

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I was recently talking with friends about comedy films that parody other movies and the discussion very quickly included actor Leslie Nielsen. I brought him up because I have not seen a movie with him in it that I did not laugh, except for I did recently cross Forbidden Planet off of my cinematic bucket list (1956, sci-fi that helped inspire the original Star Trek tv show) but that was not made as a comedy (although if you only appreciate modern special effects, perhaps it was). Movies like Wrongfully Accused (this was my first viewing) are impressive for how many (intended) laughs there are per minute, which includes in the opening and ending credits. Impressive to me is how the film is constantly making jokes in different ways like physical comedy (someone gets hit awkwardly and falls over), sight gags (common signs that have been altered), and verbally (the least obvious because Leslie sounds serious throughout, you have to hear and think about the actual words he is saying). Some of my favorite comedy film laughs are in the category of, if you don’t see it or put it together, you may not laugh (no laugh track like on some tv shows). My friends made the point that these types of films are quite low brow, but I think there is more going on and they can be quite rewarding (especially in a parody if you are familiar with the reference).

The premise is Leslie Neilsen is framed for murder so he avoids the law and tries to prove his innocence, but the plot is barely needed as it is mostly used to setup different laughs and locations. Same with the characters, you understand their intentions right away and just look forward to seeing how they can also be used for a joke. This film also made use of more computer animated special effects, something the Naked Gun series did not (need) have as much access to. I would also recommend that if you like this film, try watching it again sometime and see how many more jokes you get out of it (I include all parody type films in that statement) such as cameos or voices heard off camera (including through intercoms). This film also does a nice job of tying scenes together by continuing a joke between them, kudos to their continuity fact checker, and the editing/pacing of the film is perfectly suited for a 87 minute comedy.

1998, PG, 1h 27m
Distributor – Warner Bros.
Budget – $30 million


Cast & Crew

Director and writer Pat Proft also co-wrote the 2 Hot Shots! movies (1991 and 1993 starring Charlie Sheen) and co-wrote the first Police Academy (1984). Leslie Nielsen was on a lot of different tv shows including 2 episodes of The Fugitive (1963-1964, the 1993 Harrison Ford film version was largely parodied in Wrongfully Accused) before appearing in the films Airplane! (1980 and its sequel 2 years later) and The Naked Gun series (1988-1994 plus the 6 episodes they were based on, Police Squad! 1982). He was was also in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 directed by Mel Brooks), Spy Hard (1996), and reunited with his Airplane! director, David Zucker for Scary Movie 3 & 4 (2003 and 2006, both co-wrote by Wrongfully Accused writer/director Pat Proft).


Links

IMDB – 6.0
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia


Spoilers

(please do not continue reading if you have not seen the movie and do not want to read a spoiler)

I liked this movie for how many laughs there were and for how many were not front and center for the audience to easily see, but because of how many gags they do try to cram in, sometimes they can be a bit thin. Having a name calling bit using “pee-pee head” or focusing too long on a sign (on the way to the jail, executions up ahead), takes away from the usual standard and pace. Two of the quick gags I really enjoyed were 3 of the 4 musicians wearing helmets in the front row (Leslie poked the eye of the 4th who clearly didn’t know better yet) and the spellings of SWAT on the back of their uniforms at the end shootout. Having a cameo of John Walsh, who hosts multiple true crime tv shows including America’s Most Wanted, was brilliant and having multiple characters named Kimble (from The Fugitive) or Leslie’s character Ryan Harrison (a mix of Harrison Ford and the character Jack Ryan, who Harrison played in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger) was a nice touch. Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010) owned this corner of comedy style and watching this film makes me look forward to more films from Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie and A Haunted House series).

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