The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

1991 Directed by David Zucker

If you see only one movie this year...you ought to get out more often

Bumbling cop Frank Drebin is out to foil the big boys in the energy industry, who intend to suppress technology that will put them out of business.

Leslie Nielsen Priscilla Presley George Kennedy O.J. Simpson Robert Goulet Richard Griffiths Jacqueline Brookes Anthony James Lloyd Bochner Tim O'Connor Peter Mark Richman Ed Williams Peter Van Norden Mel Tormé Zsa Zsa Gabor "Weird Al" Yankovic Gina Mastrogiacomo David Zucker

Alternative Titles

Den nakna pistolen 2 ½. Doften av rädsla, Blazniva strela 2 1/2, The Naked Gun 2.5 - The Smell of Fear, Corra Que a Polícia Vem Aí 2 1/2, Y Dónde Está El Policía 21⁄2, Çıplak Silah 2, Una pallottola spuntata 2 e 1/2: l'odore della paura, Agárralo como puedas 2 1/2, La pistola desnuda 2 1/2: El aroma del miedo, Blazniva strela 2, The Naked Gun 2½ The Smell of Fear, Naked Gun 2, Agárralo como puedas 2½, ¿Y dónde está el policía? 2 1/2, The Naked Gun 2, Mies ja alaston ase 2, Y a t il un flic pour sauver le president, Una pallottola spuntata 2½ - L'odore della paura, Una pallottola spuntata 2 e mezzo, Agárralo como Puedas 2 Y Medio El Aroma Del Miedo, Naked Gun 2 and a Half, Agárralo como puedas 2, Голий пістолет 2, Голий пістолет 2: Запах страху, The Naked Gun 2½ The Smell Of Fear, Y Donde Esta El Policía 2 y un medio, The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, Die Nackte Kanone 2.5, Голый пистолет 2 ½ Запах страха, Голый пистолет 2, The Naked Gun II The Smell of Fear, The Naked Gun 2: The Smell of Fear, csupasz pisztoly 2 es fel, Bláznivá strela 2 a pol - Vôňa strachu, Høj pistolføring 2½

comedy crime

85 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★ 8

Probably the funniest sex scene I’ve ever seen and some other really great bits here and there but overall very disappointing /:
Review by Matt Singer ★★★★ 3

“Now, Jane, what can you tell us about the man you saw last night?”
“He's Caucasian.”
“Caucasian?”
“Yeah, you know, a white guy. A moustache. About six-foot-three.”
“Awfully big moustache.”
Review by matt lynch ★★★

Saying I think the joke pace seriously flags and it's not as funny as the first one shouldn't give you the impression that there aren't plenty of good gags here. Plus there's the bonus nostalgia for a time when a mainstream studio comedy would make room for a Mel Torme cameo, and John Sununu jokes were the order of the day.
Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★½

Not as funny as the first and I was soon to find out... not as great as the third either.
Vegan alert:
-Bad guy talks about hunting rhino in Botswana.
-Leslie Nielsen talks about eating sea otters.
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★

Not as funny as the first one, and the subversive political undercurrent is mostly gone, but it's still as hilariously self aware, and the sight gags (the flowers and the blender) and background details (native Americans and zoo keepers) are as strong as ever. Better than most Obligatory Sequels.
Review by Travis Lytle ★★★

Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin returns in "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear." While the film lacks an impressive story, the laughs are quick and many. Blending parody, sight gags, and multitudinous goofy zingers, the comedy is a pleasing, sometimes smart piece of work.
The film revolves around the attempt of Drebin and his Police Squad squadmates to foil a multi-corporation plot. That plot is not much of a foundation for the film's humor, but the humor is enough to make an audience overlook the narrative.
Nielsen is in fine form, exuding a silly charisma that serves the film well. Director, David Zucker, keeps the gags and energy flowing, and the production itself is, at least, competent.
Sticking to the politics-skewering-and-parody formula of the original film, this sequel provides an amusing 90 minutes. The cast is capable, the jokes are effective, and the whole ridiculous affair boasts satisfying zip.
Review by Matt J. ★★★★

Now it's time for something light and fun after having Amour kick my ass.

While I don't think it's quite as good at the original film, this sequel is still a hilarious chapter of the continuing saga of the airheaded Frank Drebin (Nielsen) and his partners Ed (George Kennedy) and Nordberg (OJ Simpson, back when he was funny in a good way instead of now, where he's just a joke).

As usual for these films, the plot isn't all that important, since it's just a way to move things forward and keep the jokes flowing. The gist is this: President Bush, Sr. announces that his will choose his new national energy policies based on the recommendations from expert Dr. Meinheimer,…
Review by Parker ★★★★

Lt. Frank Drebin: Hector Savage. From Detroit. Ex-boxer. His real name was Joey Chicago.
Ed Hocken: Oh, yeah. He fought under the name of Kid Minneapolis.
Nordberg: I saw Kid Minneapolis fight once. In Cincinnati.
Lt. Frank Drebin: No you're thinking of Kid New York. He fought out of Philly.
Ed Hocken: He was killed in the ring in Houston. By Tex Colorado. You know, the Arizona Assassin.
Nordberg: Yeah, from Dakota. I don't remember if it was North or South.
Lt. Frank Drebin: North. South Dakota was his brother. From West Virginia.
Ed Hocken: You sure know your boxing.
Lt. Frank Drebin: All I know is never bet on the white guy.
Review by Alex E ★★★½

Alex E's Naked Gun Marathon #2
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
"Any final requests, Lieutenant?"
"Er, yes... Can I have the gun?"
"Ohh no! I'm not going to fall for that one!"
Very few comedy sequels are good and only an atom of that can surpass the original, luckily while not being on the level of the first one, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear still manages to be a good comedy sequel that still has some good jokes in it.
Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) discovers that Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), has a new boyfriend Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet) that is involved in a plot to kidnap Dr. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), a scientist…
Review by Cadinho93 ★★★★★

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is simply hilarious! Leslie Nielsen is so comely as a comedian he doesn't know if he did anything wrong or not. Which makes it more hilarious! In any case, be prepared to laugh because the actions and puns are shown one after the other. If you want to laugh and not be depressed, this is definitely the movie to watch. This is my favorite of the 3 Naked Gun movies, but I love them all. They really are some of the best comedies ever made. Overall, this second installment of The Naked Gun is hilarious.
Review by A. J. Black ★★★ 7

The trick isn't quite repeated twice in this sequel to the first, iconic Naked Gun - it doesn't help that pretty much the exact same formula is repeated in terms of narrative, but that thankfully doesn't prevent it still being very funny in many places:
"What would he be doing in the red light district?"
"Sex, Frank?"
"Uh, not right now, Ed... we've got work to do."
"And this is a genuine piece of Noah's Ark."
"Youre going on Horaldo because of this?"
"No my wife is a transsexual Satan worshipper."
"I'm single! I love being single! I haven't had this much sex since I was a Boy Scout leader! I mean at the time I was dating a lot."
It may not be a classic like its predecessor but it tickles the funny bone enough to be considered a worthy, enjoyable sequel - if not in the same league as the first.
Review by Sam Morrison ★★★★

I'm quite stunned to say that Naked Gun 2 might be just as hilarious as the first one. To its credit, it doesn't stick its nose into extremely familiar territory, playing its "greatest hits" from the first, like Airplane 2 did.
It also doesn't go "bigger and louder" like most sequels tend to do. There's a character in the presentation itself, coming up with all new jokes to support its all new script. One thing that lacked a little was the actual story. The pacing was quite leisurely. Ironic considering how rapid fire the jokes are.
But as far as humor, this was right on the money for what I look for in these types of comedies. To fatten up…

Recent reviews

Review by john ★★★★

Will always be funny
Review by MrCharlesworth ★★★

It’s nowhere near as hilarious as the first one, but I still enjoyed this and had fun with it!
Review by Sabri Gülseven ★★★★

Adamlar yapılmadık espri bırakmamış.
Review by Kryštof Šubr ★★★★

"Make sure nothing happens to him while I'm gone. Then, I want the pleasure of killing you myself."
"The pleasure is all mine."
Review by Richard ★★★★

This is what I remember from my childhood. Most of the jokes have aged perfectly too
Review by thedarlis ★★★½

Lot of dumb jokes but the characters seem too in on the jokes
Review by sean.

We should give OJ a tank!!!!

Very funny, I love seeing how much shit Barbara Bush ate lol
Review by Evan_ThatsMe ★★★★

✅83% - The Naked Gun 2 1/2 isn’t as good as the first but still very funny. The laughs in here are strong and the relationship between our 2 leads is still great. Leslie Nielsen still kills the role and he’s just so funny. The ending is also ridiculous but in the best way possible. So I love this movie as well but it’s not on the same level as the first Naked Gun.
Review by Joseph Vrenick ★★★★

*frank crashes into the Washington DC zoo in the previous scene*
Commissioner: Do you realize because of what you’ve done this city is being overrun by Baboons?
Frank Drebin: Isn’t that the fault of the voters?
*drummer does the badum tss off screen*
*frank walks off screen*
Topical humor in this one.
I already logged this for my Pandemic binge so it doesn’t count there. But god. After watching Man of Steel, I needed to put on something I actually enjoyed. And yeah. This gave me some good laughs.
Movie #15 during 2021
Review by Howard "Pasta" Grillman ★★★★★

I'm not sure there's a higher high point for comedy than the "Sex, Frank?" scene. I mean, it's all just fucking hilarious.
Review by HoraceMajeur ★★½

An even broader tone meets even more diminished returns.
Review by XbbØ Crybb ★★

Cinephile 3 — First Scavenger Hunt
Task Twenty-Two: Sequels — watch a sequel to a movie you have seen but for whatever reason never watched the sequel or sequels.
Yeah, it’s really dumb, but Leslie Nielsen makes me smile because...he keeps a straight face when he says the most idiotic things. I miss him too. Also, I love that Casablanca reference.