Low brow flies high

– Danny Buttler
LESLIE Nielsen’s death has been bad for the actor, but good for fans.
The second-rate dramatic actor, who had a late career change to first-rate comedy performer, died recently, offering a barely needed excuse for repeat showings of his best films.
Naked Gun Two and Half: The Smell of Fear features Nielsen as the hapless Frank Drebben, a Chicago cop who bumbles around the screen using his deadpan acting skills as a foil for much slapstick comedy.
It’s lowbrow, often crude and has its tiresome moments, but its machine gun approach ensures that plenty of the gags hit their targets, despite many missing the mark.
Flying High was replayed last weekend, competing with that other great comedy of the 1980s, Rambo III, which was on another channel.
The Zucker Brothers film holds up very well, despite its 1970s feel (it was released in 1980) and its necessary referencing of ’60s and ’70s disaster movies.
Nielsen stars as Dr Rumack, a stethoscope wearing passenger who comes to the fore when food poisoning strikes.
The movie is little more than a series of sketches and one-liners strung together with a loose plot about a washed-up pilot with a drinking problem (he keeps missing his mouth) trying to land a passenger jet.
Like the rising tension of a good thriller, the Zucker brothers keep pushing the boundaries of silliness.
Johnny the airtraffic controller is the barometer for the film as he contributes increasingly bizarre comments to match the escalating “drama”.
Leslie Nielsen may have had bigger and better roles, but this surely was the funniest film he ever starred in.