I don't understand what's happened to the movie parody genre. It used to be in such top form...for comic geniuses like the Zucker Brothers, Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft used to churn out th most reliably hilarious movie spoofs ever! I am a big fan of "AIRPLANE! ", "NAKED GUN 2 1/2: THE SMELL OF FEAR", and " HOT SHOTS! "...All of these movies were hysterical as the actors like Leslie Nielsen and Charlie Sheen played their characters straight and generated so much laughs through hilarious dialogue and cool sight gags. The Zucker Brothers, along with Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft, were the only ones who could pull it off. We've seen horrible imitations, even ones with Leslie Nielsen in it, like " SPY HARD! " and " SILENCE OF THE HAMS! ", and any post SPACEBALLS Mel Brooks movie. Even the recent Zucker Efforts like " HIGH SCHOOL HIGH! " and " MAFIA! " are in no way as funny as their other works. And now Pat Proft, who teamed up with Jim Abrahams for " HOT SHOTS! " and the NAKED GUN movies..goes solo and writes/directs this new spoof of THE FUGITIVE. And what a horrible disappointment it is. Leslie Nielsen is a hilarious actor. He knows how to play a character totally in a serious tone in movie parodies..but somehow ..if he isn't in his Frank Drebin persona..he just doesn't work. He just isn't funny as the wrongfully accused fugitive Ryan Harrison. I guess the writing just sucks. There are a lot of sight gags in this movie. In fact, every second there is a sight gag. But all of them bomb. Not one succeeds. I thought Pat Proft was just as good a screenwriter as the Zuckers were but he doesn't show it here. This movie is completely devoid of anything original or funny. Its like dead air. It's depressing to watch. This movie parody of the FUGITIVE is totally outdated. THE FUGITIVE came out seven years ago. It would be nice to see a movie spoof that pokes fun at much more recent dumb Hollywood trends. Well, I hope one day the directors will all reteam and do something that is as funny and riotous as there "Kentucky Fried Movie! " and " AIRPLANE! " days because they've disappointed me a lot lately.
Review of Wrongfully Accused
