The Naked Gun Gives The Only Surviving Main Franchise Cast Member A Quick Cameo

This article contains spoilers for "The Naked Gun."

Theatrically released studio comedies (and especially spoof movies) have become somewhat of a dying art in the 2020s, with most of them either being relegated to die on a streaming service, being released by independent distributors, or flopping at the box office. It's a bummer because anyone who's seen a great comedy in a movie theater knows the power of laughing with an audience. It's the only kind of communal experience in which people making sounds is a good sign. You have to wonder if there's any movie that could get the genre out of its slump. As of this week, there is! I can't tell you how good it feels to have a new "Naked Gun" movie where everyone can laugh at the universal truths of a snowman threesome, a shotgun being pulled out of Pamela Anderon's hair, and the best end credits of the year so far.

/Film's Ethan Anderton hits it right on the head in his review, calling "The Naked Gun" one of the funniest movies of the year. Liam Neeson makes a meal out of his cinematic inheritance as Frank Drebin Jr, the destructive offspring of Leslie Nielsen's character. Pamela Anderson also gives a delightfully funny performance as Beth Davenport, the "Basic Instinct"-inspired femme fatale who ends up falling in love with the bumbling detective. Together, they lead what is a loving ode to the television series ("Police Squad") turned movie franchise that David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (otherwise known as ZAZ) made possible. Schaffer's exuberantly silly legacy sequel avoids the pratfalls that plagues other movies of its ilk, as it captures the same zany spirit of the previous trilogy without feeling the need to repeat the same jokes. But given that the film serves as a continuation to the original "Naked Gun" trilogy, it stands to reason that there could possibly be some familiar faces popping in for a quick gag.

The only issue with this is that most of the main talent behind "The Naked Gun" either aren't interested (David Zucker) or are no longer with us. Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy, and Ed Williams have all sadly passed away in the years since "The Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult." There's also the matter of controversial figure OJ Simpson, whom the film hilariously skewers without uttering a single word. In terms of returning faces, however, polka parody musician (and all-around sweetiepie) "Weird Al" Yankovic gets a very funny running gag that extends all the way until the post-credits scene. It makes him one of two surviving "Naked Gun" alum that have appeared in every "Naked Gun" movie, with the other actor being someone that hasn't been in a theatrically released movie since 1994.

One of the most important comedic players in the original "Naked Gun" trilogy is Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer, the romantic partner of Nielsen's Drebin. All signs pointed to her absence in Schaffer's film due to a 2022 interview from The Standard in which the actress indicated that she had no interest in making an appearance in the reboot. "Maybe it will come across great, but I wouldn't be a part of it," says Presley. Considering the new film revolves around Jane and Frank's son, it didn't at all surprise me when Drebin Jr. shared a brief conversation with his mother on the phone. It's a small moment during his blunders investigating the Bengal Club looking for evidence of Eden Tech's wrongdoing. You never get to see or hear her, and I thought that would be that.

Drebin Jr. predictably makes a huge scene at the WWFC fight in the film's climax, as he finds himself trapped inside a pair of descending New Year's Eve balls with his entire butt hanging out on live television. With the sporting event being broadcast around the world, everyone at home gets a good shot of the police detective flailing around. Among the sea of horrified reactions is Presley, who indeed reprises her role in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo that shows that Jane is still out there. Nielsen's Drebin is technically in the film, albeit in a much funnier way, as an owl that helps his son save the day.

It appears that Presley was able to work something out in order to make her guest spot transpire — even if she doesn't exactly get any lines of dialogue. Needless to say, it's pretty cool that she changed her mind and decided to participate. Presley is a divine and underrated comic actress who's arguably just as important to the "Naked Gun" trilogy as Nielsen is. Her performance carries a similar cadence of being funny without trying to let people know you're trying to be funny. Presley's screen presence came about so naturally when playing opposite Nielsen, with their screen relationship acting as the beating heart of these incredibly goofy spoof movies.

The relationship between Drebin and Jane is one of the few narrative throughlines throughout the first three films. "The Naked Gun" shows their courtship with Jane as an informant who falls for her mark, followed by "The Naked Gun 2 ½" acting as a "Before Sunset" reunion that sees the pair rekindling their love affair after years of being away from one another. "The Naked Gun 33 ⅓" puts their marriage through the grinder before bringing them back together after a chaotic climax at the Academy Awards. In a perfect world, Presley and Nielsen would have built upon their incredible chemistry with a bunch of starring vehicles in which they play up an absurdist twist on the William Powell and Myrna Loy screen courtship.

Needless to say, Schaffer's "Naked Gun" keeps the spirit of the screen couple alive with the delightful pairing of Neeson and Anderson. Time will tell if Presley's cameo is just a one-off or she'll make another appearance in a potential sequel, but for now, it was just great to see her in a movie again.

"The Naked Gun" is now playing in theaters nationwide.