National Lampoonâs Loaded Weapon I
Airplane!-style spoofs are often known to be pretty much letdowns, especially in recent years (Meet The Whatevers, Genre Movie), but this 1993 production directed by Police Academy sequel writer Gene Quintano is for the most part pretty damn funny and solid, choosing as its target the Lethal Weapon Series and various other cop / buddy films of the 80s and 90s. In addition, the movie is jam-packed with so many cool, funny cameos that itâs almost a surprise that Gibson and Glover themselves didnât put in an appearance. Itâs obvious that the writers here know the Lethal films inside and out, and use that knowledge to spoof different characters and plot elements (right down to the music). Emilio Estevez (long missed since he retired from acting) plays Jack Colt, a suicidal, on the edge cop on the brink of insanity since his dog ran away, hilariously introduced in a wild and crazy âhero gets caught up in a random robberyâ scene that action fans are only too familiar with as he and the robbers lay waste to the convenience store where he went to get a microwave burger. Samuel L. Jackson plays the Glover role as the near retirement veteran cop whose wife and daughter like to sleep around who takes on the case when an old friend of his is killed. What follows is a good, laugh-filled, but at times uneven story of the two stars tracking down drug dealers who put cocaine in girl scout cookies, and while every scene has at least one funny line or moment, some do fall flat, which is an obvious risk in this style of comedies. The film certainly could have used a story editor to fill in some MAJOR plot holes, and reportedly a slew of funny scenes were cut out of the film completely, but what we do get is a world where ALL cops use valet parking (with sometimes bad results for the valets), and all the clichĂ©s are lovingly trotted out and given a nice spin, but as previously stated, the list of supporting and cameo roles by major stars and character actors is impressive to say the least, including Jon Lovitz (mercilessly spoofing Joe Pesciâs snitch in the Lethal films), Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, Frank McRae (playing the same blowhard police captain role he has specialized in for years), William Shatner (doing a great job playing out the clichĂ©s of the oblique master villain), Whoopi Goldberg, Lance âLt. Proctorâ Kinsey (âSomething doesnât add up, Sarge. I havenât had sex with my wife in over two years and I have a six month old baby daughter.â), Bill Nunn, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Lin Shaye, James âScottyâ Doohan, Richard Moll, F. Murray Abraham, Charlie Sheen, Denis Leary, Denise Richards, Corey Feldman, Phil Hartman, J.T. Walsh, Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox (still doing their CHIPS characters from the 70s), Paul Gleason, and even a couple of huge surprises. If nothing else, itâs very entertaining, and even if every joke doesnât go flying out of the park like in Airplane!, itâs certainly an underrated comedy that deserves a better reputation than it hasâŠ
8/10