The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is a 1991 American crime comedy film serving as the sequel to the 1988 film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, and the second installment in The Naked Gun film series. The film stars Leslie Nielsen as the comically bumbling Police Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad!. Priscilla Presley plays the role of Jane, with O. J. Simpson as Nordberg and George Kennedy as police captain Ed Hocken. The film also features Robert Goulet as the villainous Quentin Hapsburg and Richard Griffiths in a dual role as renewable fuel advocate Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer and his evil double. Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mel Tormé have cameo roles.
David Zucker returns from the first entry as director and screenwriter of the film. Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker serve as executive producers for the film and receive writing credit due to their contributions to the first entry of the series and the Police Squad! television series. However, neither contributed to the screenplay for the film. The film was a box office success, grossing $192 million against a budget of $23 million, making it the most commercially successful of the series. It received positive reviews from critics, though some concluded it to be inferior to its predecessor. A third installment in the series, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, was released in 1994.
Plot
At the White House, President George H. W. Bush announces that he will base the country's energy policy on the recommendations of Dr. Albert Meinheimer. The heads of the coal, oil, and nuclear power industries are upset by the President's decision as Dr. Meinheimer plans to advocate for renewable energy. Jane Spencer, now separated from Frank Drebin, is working late at Dr. Meinheimer's research institute when she spots a suspicious man leaving in a van. A maintenance worker finds a clock with dynamite attached and takes it to the security guards, who accidentally trigger an explosion.The next morning, Frank is reunited with Jane as he investigates the bombing. He also meets Jane's new boyfriend, Hexagon Oil executive Quentin Hapsburg, and becomes exceedingly jealous. Later that evening, Frank and his boss Ed Hocken meet up at a blues bar. Jane finds Frank at the bar, and they get into an argument, after which Jane storms out. Elsewhere, Hapsburg holds a secret meeting of the energy industry leaders where he reveals his plan for changing Dr. Meinheimer's speech. Hapsburg introduces them to Earl Hacker, a dead ringer for Dr. Meinheimer who will take Dr. Meinheimer's place and deliver a speech recommending more fossil fuels. Dr. Meinheimer is kidnapped by Hapsburg's goons, who tie him up and leave him in a warehouse.
Police Squad tracks down Hector Savage, the man whom Jane saw on the night of the bombing. Savage leads them on a short chase that ends in a standoff at a nearby house. While Savage negotiates with the police, Frank drives a SWAT tank through the house and allows Savage to flee. Frank loses control of the tank and crashes into the city zoo, causing the animals to escape. At a party later that evening, Frank notices that Dr. Meinheimer does not remember meeting him despite having a photographic memory. Frank visits Jane at her apartment after the party and asks if Dr. Meinheimer had been acting strange. After Frank leaves, Savage breaks into Jane's apartment and tries to kill her in the shower. Frank intervenes and kills Savage by shoving a fire hose down his throat and filling him with water until he explodes. Jane realizes she still loves Frank and the two rekindle their romance.
The next day, Police Squad stakes out the warehouse where Dr. Meinheimer is being held captive. Frank tries to sneak into the building but is captured and tied up with Dr. Meinheimer. They are freed by Police Squad and head to the Press Club Dinner to stop Hacker. Jane agrees to open a locked door to let them in, but she is interrupted by Hapsburg. Frank, Ed, Nordberg, and Dr. Meinheimer steal a mariachi band's costumes and sneak inside. Ed captures Hacker and gets a confession from him, causing Hapsburg to take Jane hostage and flee the dinner. Frank pursues Hapsburg to the roof where he learns that Hapsburg has rigged up a small nuclear device which will kill everyone in the building. Frank catches Hapsburg and attempts to learn the bomb's disarming code but Ed throws Hapsburg out a window. Miraculously, Hapsburg bounces off an awning and lands on the sidewalk unscathed, only to be killed by an escaped lion from the zoo.
Frank and Jane try to disarm the bomb while Ed and Nordberg go back into the ballroom to evacuate it. Frank finally disarms the bomb at the last second by tripping over and unplugging the power cord. Frank is commended by the President, who offers him a special post as head of a new Federal Bureau of Police Squad. Frank declines and instead proposes marriage to Jane, which she accepts.
Cast
- Leslie Nielsen as Lieutenant Frank Drebin of Police Squad. Drebin is investigating the bombing of a building which leads him back to his former lover Jane and her new boyfriend Quentin Hapsburg.
- Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer, Frank's love interest from the previous movie. She becomes torn between her feelings for Frank and her beau Quentin Hapsburg.
- George Kennedy as Captain Ed Hocken, Frank's supervisor at Police Squad.
- O. J. Simpson as Detective Nordberg, Frank's bumbling partner.
- Robert Goulet as Quentin Hapsburg, owner of Hexagon Oil and the main antagonist. He plans to replace Dr. Meinheimer with a duplicate who will recommend that the U.S. remain dependent on fossil fuels and nuclear power instead of switching to renewable energy.
- Richard Griffiths as Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer and Earl Hacker. Dr. Meinheimer is selected by the President to plan a new energy policy for the United States, while Hacker is a duplicate of Dr. Meinheimer hired to impersonate him and deliver a different policy.
- Jacqueline Brookes as Commissioner Anabell Brumford
- Anthony James as Hector Savage, a goon working for Quentin Hapsburg.
- Lloyd Bochner as Terence Baggett, head of the Society of Petroleum Industry Leaders.
- Tim O'Connor as Donald Fenswick, Chairman of the Society for More Coal Energy.
- Peter Mark Richman as Arthur Dunwell, Chairman of the Key Atomic Benefits Office of Mankind.
- Ed Williams as Ted Olsen
- John Roarke as President George H. W. Bush
- Margery Ross as First Lady Barbara Bush
- Peter Van Norden as Chief of Staff John H. Sununu
- Gail Neely as Winnie Mandela