The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)

A bumbling police lieutenant must navigate a conspiracy involving renewable energy and a lookalike villain.

First release year

1991

Runtime (minutes)

85

Production countries

United States

Original languages

English

Directors

David Zucker

Writers

David Zucker · writer; Pat Proft · writer

Genres

crime comedy; parody; slapstick comedy

Themes

renewable energy vs fossil fuels; conspiracy; romance

Tone and mood

absurdist; surreal; comedy

Premise and plot tags

sequel; police comedy; hostage taking; terrorism

Source material / true-story basis

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! television series

Franchise connections

The Naked Gun

Content notes

terrorism; hostage taking

Reception

The film was a box office success, grossing $192 million against a budget of $23 million, making it the most commercially successful of the series. It received positive reviews from critics, though some concluded it to be inferior to its predecessor.

Reported review scores

Rotten Tomatoes · score: 76% · review count: 110; Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 21

Production trivia

The film was the 10th best performing movie of 1991 in the United States.; Production took place in the Greater Los Angeles area alongside the comedy Hot Shots!; The film knocked Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from the top spot at the box office.

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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