A Lot Of People Wanted The Naked Gun's Director To Cut His Favorite Joke [Exclusive]

This article contains minor spoilers for "The Naked Gun," so beware.

The reboot of the classic spoof franchise "The Naked Gun" hits theaters this weekend, and you'd be hard pressed to find a comedy that packs so many hilarious jokes into its breezy hour and a half runtime. Seriously, there hasn't been a comedy on the big screen that makes you laugh so often, so hard, and so consistently in a long time. Even if you find that a joke doesn't work for you, don't worry, another one will come along in just a moment.

That's largely because director Akiva Shaffer ("Hot Rod," "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping," "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers"), along with co-writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, really took the time to study the magic of the original property, figuring out how to craft the story without imposing on the myriad of jokes and making sure to meticulously shape gags so they didn't overstay their welcome. There are even secret jokes throughout the credits, which is a franchise tradition.

However, when it comes to one bit in "The Naked Gun," Shaffer has fully admitted that it was "self-indulgent," and he wanted to keep it in the movie, no matter how many people thought it didn't work. It's not a foundational laugh, but it's unique in the patience Shaffer had to let it breathe, and it also accomplishes what's necessary for the next stage of the relationship between Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) and Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson). Also, it's absolutely hilarious.

As we finish up the second act, nothing has gone well for Frank Drebin Jr. as he tries to thwart the nefarious plans of tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston). However, when he arrives at Beth Davenport's place to lick his wounds, he faces a whole new frustration when he notices something troubling.

You see, Frank lent Beth his old TiVo, allowing her to watch episodes of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series and finally understand all of his references to the show. However, when Beth hooked up the TiVo to watch them, she also hooked it up to the internet. When you have an old TiVo with recordings that are meant to expire after a certain time, hooking it up to the internet means you're likely to lose all the recordings you have that are past their expiration date.

Frank explains all this as he gets increasingly frustrated, and he proceeds to boot up the TiVo to see whether or not his beloved "Buffy" episodes are still there. When Beth tries to interject, he stops her and sternly says, "Just stand there." And the audience waits as Frank scrolls through the TiVo menu in an attempt to find his episodes.

It's a perfectly random, nonsensical joke that takes a moment to slow things down, and Shaffer knew that it interrupted the momentum from the rest of the film. In our interview with the filmmaker, where I couldn't wait to ask him about this bit, he explained:

"Well, it's so funny 'cause in some of these interviews, I talk a lot about momentum and how the movie just had to move and how if a joke didn't work, I would always cut it. Even things that went further, like sometimes we'd cut the last beat off if it climaxed at one part. Then when it gets to the 'Buffy' joke, it's indefensible. That's just me."

If audiences don't appreciate the joke on the first viewing, Shaffer thinks they'll come around when they see it again. He said, "I think even for people who don't love it, if they watched the movie another time or two more times now knowing it, I think it will become their favorite joke. That's how much I believe in it."

Shaffer even went so far as to theorize why it doesn't work for everyone, despite the fact that some audiences laugh at the follow-up joke that keeps the bit alive in the next scene, when Frank leaves Beth's apartment with his arms wrapped around his empty TiVo. Shaffer explained:

"When he's in the cab [...] and he's got the TiVo, there's people that laugh there and I go like, 'I think there's some people that are just watching it trying to figure out where it's going and what it is as a joke, because I don't recognize its format from anything.' And it's Liam's performance that kills it. He's just so dedicated. So, I think those people then will be laughing from the beginning the next time."

However, Shaffer knew that not everyone was going to understand his desire to keep the bit. In fact, even star Liam Neeson himself was skeptical about the joke. Shaffer recalled, "I had to tell Liam, 'No, I know that one doesn't. It only plays for half the audience.' It's just my favorite, and I like that we don't explain it."

Shaffer's love of the joke extends so far that it's the only thing in the movie that still makes him laugh. He elaborated:

"It's the only joke that still makes me laugh. I've seen the movie a thousand times, scrutinized every frame. It's all just like ones and zeros to me now of color and sound and mix. None of it makes me laugh anymore. That joke still makes me laugh every time, and it was always polarizing. Half the audience would be like, 'Do not touch it. It's the best joke in the movie,' and half the audience would be like, 'Get that out of here. I don't even have a clue what that was.' But I have to admit, it was self-indulgent. I know."

"The Naked Gun" is playing in theaters now.