David Zucker Movies
The Wisconsin-born and educated David Zucker, with his brother, Jerry, and Jim Abrahams, worked with the improvisational Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, WI, before coming to movies in 1977 with Kentucky Fried Movie, a dazzlingly funny satire of movies, television, and popular culture. Written, produced, and directed by the trio, Kentucky Fried Movie became an unexpected success. They followed this up three years later with the monster hit Airplane!, a brutally funny take-off of disaster movies that not only brought an end to that genre, but made the trio into one of the hottest teams in screen comedy. Top Secret! (1984) wasn't nearly as successful, although it did make a profit. However, Ruthless People (1986) was a hit. During the early '80s, the Zuckers were responsible for a short-lived cop show parody called Police Squad, starring Leslie Nielsen, a one-time dramatic film actor who had emerged as a comedy star in Airplane! The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988) was borne from the Police Squad parody and proved a monster hit; this was followed by Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Comedy writers David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams of Airplane and The Naked Gun fame got their start at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, when they formed a theatrical group known as The Kentucky Fried Theater. The Kentucky Fried Movie is based on the KFT's gag-filled theatrical skits. Including well-known stars such as Bill Bixby, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, George Lazenby and Henry Gibson, the film has over 22 different segments of varying lengths. Some are seconds long. Longer segments include such highlights as: "Zinc Oxide," which spoofs school educational films; "Cleopatra Schwartz," a spoof of female blaxploitation action films, whose heroine is married to a rabbi; "Sex Record," which depicts a couple who are attempting to follow the step-by-step instructions of a how-to-do-it record; "Catholic High School Girls In Trouble," and "A Fistful of Yen," (the longest episode), which is an elaborate spoof of martial-arts films. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, George Lazenby, (more)
This spoof of the Airport series of disaster movies relies on ridiculous sight gags, groan-inducing dialogue, and deadpan acting -- a comedy style that would be imitated for the next 20 years. Airplane! pulls out all the clichés as alcoholic pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays), who's developed a fear of flying due to wartime trauma, boards a jumbo jet in an attempt to woo back his stewardess girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). Food poisoning decimates the passengers and crew, leaving it up to Striker to land the plane, with the help of a glue-sniffing air traffic controller (Lloyd Bridges) and Striker's vengeful former captain (Robert Stack), who must both talk him down. Along the way, we meet a clutch of stock disaster movie passengers like the guitar-strumming nun, a sick little girl, a frightened old lady, and two African-American travelers whose "jive" has to be subtitled. Leslie Nielsen portrays the plane's doctor, launching a new phase of the actor's career that carried him through the next two decades in several similarly comedic roles. The trio of directors Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker responsible for the film would eventually go on to solo careers, but not before making Top Secret! and Ruthless People. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, (more)
- 1982
At times so funny that it hurts, Police Squad! Help Wanted! consists of the first three episodes of the legendary TV cop-show spoof Police Squad!. Leslie Nielsen stars as deadpanned, dimwitted Lt. Frank Drebin, Alan North is Drebin's assistant, Captain Hocken, and Rex Hamilton costars as Abraham Lincoln. The guest stars are Lorne Greene, George Stanford Brown and Florence Henderson--none of whom survive past the opening credits. The titles of the three episodes are "A Substantial Gift", "Ring of Fear" and "Rendezvous at Big Gulch", titles that have very little relationship with the plot at hand; "Substantial Gift", for example, is the story of a bank clerk who shoots her colleague and claims to be robbed-a storyline stolen from the old Lee Marvin series M Squad, of which Police Squad! is a merciless lampoon. Series creators Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams (of Airplane fame) serve as directors, along with Joe Dante. The gags, one-liners and nonsequiturs are spewed out at such a fast clip that each episode needs to be seen more than once for maximum enjoyment. And, as always, the Zuckers and Abrahams take every opportunity to poke fun at the city of Milwaukee, as witness the rendezvous at the corner of 53rd and Galena (in real life, those streets are parallels). Originally telecast in March of 1982, the inaugural three Police Squad episodes are gems of comic insanity. The series' remaining three episodes have also been bundled together on videotape, under the title More! Police Squad! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The second of Zucker-Abraham-Zucker's theatrical-feature spoofs (Airplane was the first, discounting the patchwork Kentucky Fried Movie), Top Secret! lampoons practically every film genre. Specifically, however, this is a hybrid of an "Elvis" movie and a World War II "underground resistance" thriller. In his film debut, Val Kilmer plays Nick Rivers, a Presley-like American rock idol sent behind the Iron Curtain on a goodwill tour. Before long, he is involved in a complex espionage scheme thanks to beautiful Lucy Gutteridge, the daughter of a scientist (Michael Gough) held captive by the Communists. Also essential to the action is flamboyant resistance leader Christopher Villiers, who behaves like Victor Mature in Betrayed (1954) and talks like James Mason. Adhering to Z-A-Z's cheerful disregard for people, places and events, the East Germans are depicted as Nazis, while the Underground is comprised of Frenchmen. The plot is mainly an excuse for the Z-A-Z team's fondness for joke-a-minute lampoonery, skewering cinematic targets ranging from The Blue Lagoon (1980) to The Wizard of Oz (1939). As in Z-A-Z's other efforts, Top Secret! scores its biggest yocks when invoking cliches that we never realized were cliches-and falls on its face whenever attempting a too-obvious gag (the biggest clinker: that pigeon statue in the park). Everyone has his or her favorite bits in this film: our faves include the resistance fighter named Deja Vu ("Haven't we met somewhere before?"), Kilmer's horrible nightmare while being tortured (he arrives too late to take final exams), the army-booted cow, the sensitive Pinto, and the East German National Anthem, sung to the tune of the Shorewood (Wisconsin) High School marching song. But let's say no more: comedy of this nature is designed to be seen, not written or read about. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, (more)
The last film to be co-directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, Ruthless People stars Bette Midler (capitalizing on her comeback performance in Down and Out in Beverly Hills) as Barbara, a spoiled rich woman who is kidnapped by the kindly Ken and Sandy Kessler (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater). Barbara's forceful husband Sam (Danny DeVito) has ripped off the Kesslers and they decide to hold Barbara for ransom. Sam, who hates his wife, refuses to pay. Eventually Barbara befriends the Kesslers and together they figure out how to exact revenge upon the obnoxious Sam. Bill Pullman makes his film debut here as a very dim, would-be criminal. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, (more)
We know we're in a 1988 film when we're invited to laugh at O.J. Simpson in an opening slapstick sequence. We can also pinpoint the year of production when hard-nosed cop Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), during a scuffle with the world's leading dictators, wipes the wine-colored birthmark off the head of Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Those wacky ZAZ boys -- David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker -- serve up a feature-length spin-off of their cult favorite TV show Police Squad!. Seeking vengeance when his partner (Simpson) is shot full of holes by drug dealers, dead-pan and dead-brained Lt. Frank Drebin searches for the Mister Big behind it all. Drebin suspects above-reproach shipping magnate Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), but he can't prove a thing. Bumped from the force by the mayor (Nancy Marchand), Drebin, with the unexpected assistance of Ludwig's ex-girlfriend (Priscilla Presley), manages to nab the bad guy at a baseball game, where Reggie Jackson has been programmed to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. MGM mogul Irving Thalberg once reportedly told the Marx Brothers, "You can't build jokes on top of jokes." The producers of Naked Gun prove otherwise; indeed, one could develop writer's cramp just listing the gags in the film's first 20 minutes. Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad was followed by two lesser but still hilarious sequels, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy, (more)
- 1991
- PG13
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Leslie Nielsen returns as the intrepid (and accident-prone) Lt. Frank Drebin in Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, "un film de David Zucker." This second feature film from the "Police Squad!" series finds Drebin as a guest at a White House dinner, receiving an award for shooting his 1,000th drug dealer, although he admits to shooting only 998 -- he ran over the last two in his car. ("Luckily, they turned out to be drug dealers"). Also at the White House dinner is energy czar Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer (Richard Griffiths), whom President George Bush (John Roarke) has chosen to start a new national energy policy. Since Meinheimer believes in promoting alternative energy resources, the evil leaders of the polluting energy industries (coal, oil, and nuclear power--or the lobby groups SMOKE, SPILL and KABOOM) are horrified at Bush's choice. Joining together with arch-villain Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet), they plan to kidnap the real Meinheimer and substitute a fake Meinheimer in his place who will enact energy policy according to the dictates of the energy lobby. Drebin becomes deeply involved in the conspiracy when he runs into his ex-girl friend Jane (Priscilla Presley), who is not only Meinheimer's public relations director but also Hapsburg's current paramour. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, (more)
- 1992
- PG
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Brain Donors is a game attempt to redo the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera in a contemporary setting. John Turturro plays the "Groucho" character, a shifty lawyer (he's even given a Grouchoesque three-barrelled moniker). Bob Nelson is the "Harpo" counterpart, a puckish handyman. And Mel Smith completes the trio as a Chico-like cabbie. All three conspire to save a failing ballet company on behalf of dowager Nancy Marchand, who does a film-length impersonation of Margaret Dumont. At times, Pat Proft's script comes off more like a 3 Stooges short than a Marx Brothers romp, but that's not so bad. What hurts the film is its fluctuating pace, which shifts into neutral just when it should go into hyperdrive. Will Vinton's Claymation opening titles supply some of the film's biggest laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Bob Nelson, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
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The further misadventures of bumbling Los Angeles police Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) are chronicled in this third installment in the popular Naked Gun comedy series. This by-the-numbers entry begins with Drebin as a happily retired house-husband called back into action when an evil terrorist organization threatens Los Angeles. As in the other Naked Gun films, this plot is merely an excuse for an unhinged, rapid-fire succession of gags, ranging from satirical lampoons of cop movies to broad slapstick, all played with a perfectly straight face. Nielsen provides his familiar combination of complete witlessness and oblivious dignity as Drebin, and the film attempts to match the earlier Naked Gun films -- and the Police Squad! television series that inspired them -- in the number of jokes. However, the film proved less successful than its predecessors, as some viewers found that the freewheeling comic style of the earlier films had solidified into its own formula, now mildly entertaining but disappointingly predictable. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, (more)
In this atmospheric romantic drama, Keanu Reeves plays Paul Sutton, who has just returned home from a stretch in the Army during World War II. Still reeling from the horrors of war, Paul wants to settle down and start a farm, but his wife Betty (Debra Messing), whom he met and impulsively married shortly before shipping out, has arranged for him to take a job as a salesman peddling chocolates. While taking a sales trip to another town, he befriends a beautiful but distraught young woman, Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). While away at college, Victoria met and fell in love with a young man and soon became pregnant; however, when her boyfriend discovered she was expecting, he abandoned her. She returns home full of shame and fearful of her father's reaction. But Paul gets an idea -- he'll pose as her husband and leave after a day or two, so when she's left alone with the child, the disgrace will be on him, not her. Victoria agrees, and Paul joins Victoria as she arrives at her family's estate in the California wine country. Most of the Aragon family take to Paul readily enough, especially Grandfather Don Pedro (Anthony Quinn), but Victoria's father, Alberto (Giancarlo Giannini), senses something amiss between the young couple. A Walk In The Clouds was the first American film from director Alfonso Arau, who previously made the international hit Like Water For Chocolate. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, (more)
In this comic send-up of dramas set in urban schools (such as Lean on Me and Dangerous Minds), Jon Lovitz plays Richard Clark, a teacher who is persuaded to give up his position at Wellington Academy, an upscale private school (where the receptionist cheerfully answers calls with the question "Are you white?"), to take over a class at Marion Barry High School in Inner City, U.S.A. Marion Barry High is a far cry from the ivory-tower atmosphere of Wellington; the statue in the courtyard holds a crack pipe, the Michigan Militia sets up a booth for career day, and there's so much violence on campus that the school has its own graveyard; however, Clark is determined to reach his thick-headed charges, and he hopes to also make an impression on Victoria Chappell (Tia Carrere), a beautiful woman also on the teaching staff. Clark does battle with Evelyn Doyle (Louise Fletcher), the school's militaristic principal, in an effort to raise standards for the school's star straight-C students, and he finds that he's getting through to one of the school's toughest students, Grig (Mekhi Phifer). Screenwriters Pat Proft and David Zucker helped create The Naked Gun and its follow-ups. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, (more)
David Zucker directed this slapstick sports comedy starring South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Competing two-on-two against some basketball jocks, goofballs Joe Cooper (Parker) and Doug Remer (Stone) attempt to win by devising new rules while they play. Thus is born the bizarre game of "BASEketball." Rules: Court position decides whether a sunk basket counts as a single, a home run, or whatever; the opposing team can retrieve missed shots. Verbal abuse is allowed. Ditto for gross-outs -- or anything to annoy the shooter. The game becomes popular in driveways, so sports promoter Ted Denslow (Ernest Borgnine) proposes a deal to form a pro league. Dallas Felons owner Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn), hopes to increase revenues with product placements and pro endorsements, but he needs the okay of team owners. Ted dies during the season finals, leaving Cain to deal with his widow Yvette (Jenny McCarthy). However, Ted willed the team to Cooper, who must win the upcoming season or ownership goes to Yvette. Cameos by Bob Costas and Al Michaels. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trey Parker, Matt Stone, (more)
Anarchic comedy veteran David Zucker directs hot young thing of 2003 Ashton Kutcher in the fast-paced romantic comedy My Boss's Daughter. Kutcher plays rookie executive Tom Stansfield, who wants to impress his demanding boss, Jack Taylor (Terence Stamp), and win the heart of said boss' conventionally attractive daughter Lisa (Tara Reid). In order to achieve these ends, he agrees to housesit at their palatial mansion for one night. Chaos ensues throughout the evening as rowdy houseguests show up with various means of disruption. Molly Shannon plays Jack's former employee Audrey and Andy Richter appears as Lisa's brother Red, who's on the run from nasty drug dealers. Cameos come from Carmen Electra, Ever Carradine, and the like. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, (more)
One man's life is thrown into turmoil by picking up a telephone in this claustrophobic thriller. Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) is a brash, cynical, and self-centered public relations man who juggles a busy career with both a wife, Kelly (Radha Mitchell), and a mistress, Pamela (Katie Holmes). Stu steps into a phone booth on a busy New York street to make a call to Pamela without Kelly being the wiser, but as soon as Stu hangs up, the phone begins to ring. Curious, Stu picks it up -- and a stranger on the other end (voice of Kiefer Sutherland) informs him that if he hangs up the phone, he'll be shot. The red dot of an infrared rifle scope convinces Stu that the caller means business, and when another man tries to make his way into the booth, he's shot mere inches from Stu, calling the attention of the police. Captain Ramey (Forest Whitaker) naturally assumes that Stu was the killer, as Stu struggles to find a way to convince the police of what's happening before more lives are lost, without leaving the booth and putting his own life on the line. At one time proposed as a vehicle for Jim Carrey, Phone Booth was directed by Joel Schumacher, from a screenplay by exploitation icon Larry Cohen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
While star Anna Faris returns for the third film in the Scary Movie series, the power behind the camera has shifted from the Wayans brothers to one of the Zucker brothers. The Zucker in question is David Zucker, and he's brought along his partner in movie-parody crime, Leslie Nielsen. This time around, aim is taken at such horror blockbusters as Signs and The Ring, while films of other genres, including Independence Day, 8 Mile, and The Matrix, are also lampooned. The plot finds Cindy (Faris) trying to help the president (Nielsen) thwart an alien attack while also facing crop circles and a mysterious video tape. In the spirit of the two Matrix sequels, Scary Movie 3 was shot back-to-back with Scary Movie 4. Queen Latifah, Charlie Sheen, and Eddie Griffin also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Faris, Anthony Anderson, (more)
Spoof series torch-bearer and Airplane! mastermind David Zucker steps back into the captain's chair for yet another round of cinematic shenanigans in the latest installment of the Scary Movie franchise, this time mocking such frightful blockbusters as Saw, War of the Worlds, The Village, and The Grudge. An alien invasion threatens to wipe out the entire human race, but not if Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and her nymphomaniac pal Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall) have any say in the matter. With the clock counting down for all of humankind and the extraterrestrial invasion about to begin, the fearless but slightly dunderheaded heroines are joined by a series of celebrity guests including Dr. Phil, Carmen Electra, Chris Elliot, Shaquille O'Neal, and, of course, Leslie Nielsen in ensuring that the planet remains free of the alien menace and prepared for yet another installment in the over-the-top, pop-culture deflating satire series. Although two versions of this film officially exist (a PG-13 one and an "Unrated and Uncensored" one - evidently they skipped the R version) the unrated cut only reportedly features about 3 extra minutes of screen time, devoted to jiggling and bouncing breast implants. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Faris, Regina Hall, (more)
Chris O'Donnell, Michael Keaton, and Alfred Molina star in this television mini-series event adapted from the book by Robert Littell and brought to the screen by cinematographer-turned-director Mikael Salomon (Salem's Lot and Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor). An epic thriller that traces the timeline of the CIA from the Berlin Base of the 1950s through to the Gorbachev putsch, The Company details the struggles of agents caught between double lives, that war waged against an enemy as immoral as it is elusive, and the internal battles that threatened to destroy "The Company" from the inside out. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris O'Donnell, Michael Keaton, (more)
After spoofing disaster films in Airplane!, police shows in The Naked Gun, and Hollywood horrors in Scary Movie 3 and 4, producer David Zucker sets his satirical sights on the superhero genre with this anarchic comedy lampooning everything from Spider-Man to X-Men and Superman Returns. Shortly after being bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly, high-school outcast Rick Riker (Drake Bell) begins to experience a startling transformation. Now Rick's skin is as strong as steel, and he possesses the strength of ten men. Determined to use his newfound powers to fight crime, Rick creates a special costume and assumes the identity of The Dragonfly -- a fearless crime fighter dedicated to keeping the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. But every superhero needs a nemesis, and after Lou Landers (Christopher McDonald) is caught in the middle of an experiment gone horribly awry, he develops the power to leech the life force out of anyone he meets and becomes the villainous Hourglass. Intent on achieving immortality, the Hourglass attempts to gather as much life force as possible as the noble Dragonfly sets out to take down his archenemy and realize his destiny as a true hero. Craig Mazin writes and directs this high-flying spoof featuring Tracy Morgan, Pamela Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Marion Ross, Jeffrey Tambor, and Regina Hall. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, (more)
America's most popular satirical newspaper makes the leap from the printed page to the silver screen in this political comedy that explores what happens when journalistic integrity is compromised by corporate sensibility. Onion News anchorman Norm Archer (Len Cariou) is s principled journalist, so when he's asked to bend to the will of his corporate overlords he decides to strike back with a fury unheard of in the world of network news. Nothing is sacred as the creative force behind The Onion unleash an unrelenting barrage of satire on such subjects as pop stars, prisoners, peace talks, and blockbuster action films. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Len Cariou
Ebenezer Scrooge gets the parody treatment from veteran writer/director David Zucker (Airplane!, Scary Movie 4) with this comedy starring Kevin Farley as a derisive documentarian (à la Michael Moore) who's visited by three ghosts intent on instilling the American spirit in the disillusioned filmmaker. Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Leslie Nielsen, James Woods, and Dennis Hopper co-star in the Vivendi Entertainment production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, (more)
Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Michael Crichton, director Mikael Salomon's made for television mini-series follows a group of specialized scientists as they race to cure a fast-spreading plague. A U.S. military satellite has crashed near a small Utah town, unleashing a deadly pathogen. Everyone who's come into contact with the virus has died, except for two survivors. Could something in the blood of these two survivors prove the key to immunizing the rest of mankind and preventing a devastating outbreak? Now, as a lone reporter begins investigating what he believes to be a vast government conspiracy, the military quarantines the area and a specialized team of scientists race to find a cure for the pathogen they have given the code name, "Andromeda." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, (more)
