If you had told me The Naked Gun movie would be one of those memorable 2025 movie releases for me a few months ago, I have to say, I would be rather surprised. But, here we are. I had so much fun going to see the Liam Neeson comedy during opening weekend with a packed crowd, and the experience is actually making me rethink my rather low view of spoof movies. Let’s get into it.
I Had A Blast At Going To See The Naked Gun In Theaters
After a memorable pre-release campaign and seeing the rave response from critics (including through our The Naked Gun review), I decided to check out the new release in its first weekend. And for context, yes, I’ve seen spoof movies like the original The Naked Gun, Airplane! and so forth growing up, but they never really landed any strong impression on me prior.
This movie is so popular, I actually had to trade my tickets for another showing the day I saw it because someone took my seats and it was too packed to go anywhere else but the front row. Anyways, once we were seated, I found myself really enjoying the experience of seeing it on the big screen. Not because there’s some crazy big set pieces to enjoy, but because it was so dang fun to see how audiences would react to the myriad of jokes throughout the movie. Some would get an overwhelming amount of laughter, but what really got me was when a single person would laugh about one joke that went over the rest of our heads, or just louder than everyone else.
It was a really communal experience at the movie theater that took me by surprise because I realized it was a rare one for me. Usually when I go and watch big movies in theaters, it’s more about the thrills, but there’s so many wild jokes that a big part of the fun was through the specific energy from those sitting around me. And, I think it’d be good for repeated viewings to see what each crowd is like.
I’ve Never Gone Out Of My Way To See A Spoof Movie, But The Experience Has Changed Things For Me
If I had seen The Naked Gun for the first time at home, I’m sure I would have still had a good time with it, but I would be missing that element of the experience that really added a little something else. With that in mind, it made me realize that the spoof movies I’ve watched have generally been viewed at home, and I didn’t understand a major element of value they have when they are initially released. And hey, I didn’t grow up in a generation where comedies were widely watched in theaters like they were in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
There’s a shock factor of spoof movies that haven’t appealed to me, but guys, I get it now! It’s really entertaining to see what jokes one person gets and really puts off another. (For example, my partner was dying laughing at the sparkling water joke in The Naked Gun, whereas I was a goner for the whole chili dog scene). Now, I’m wondering if I actually want to give them another try, such as going back to the original The Naked Gun or actually giving the Scary Movie franchise another try when the movie hits theaters next year.
Look, I get some people reading this will be like ‘Duh!”, but the fact that I went to see a spoof movie on opening weekend after having a disinterest in them and my whole realization shows the power of The Naked Gun’s campaign. I hope its success and conversations like this could help bring back theatrical comedies into the fold after they’ve been greatly sidelined to streaming in recent years, because as a movie fan, I want more experiences like this in theaters.
