I Watched the WORST Leslie Nielsen Parodies

[@SightsObscene]

I vividly remember renting A Space Travesty from the video store and my parents being angry at me for the rest of the weekend.

[@Stonecutter334]

I probably would have thrown you out of the house.

[@nighttimevideo]

We're angry at you in 2024!

[@powerglover2021]

Lmao! You're not alone! My mom had to walk out of the room. I was young and tried to keep going, thinking it would get funny.

[@nighttimevideo]

@@powerglover2021 Your poor mum.

[@shawnashley489]

😅 That's hilarious

[@IceDrake523]

Empty wheelchairs in handicap parking spots is an Airplane/Naked Gun tier joke. How has it never been done?

[@RichV20]

My sister and I laughed at that sight gag for a solid 5 minutes when we first rented it as teens.

[@williammitchell5201]

It's actually clever too. Amazing that someone could blunder that joke.

[@Foxy02016]

Even John Mulaney made a joke about seeing an empty wheelchair means “something happened here, and you hope it was a miracle”

[@longagoandfaraway7868]

If it had been a gag on Sledge Hammer! he would've rammed into it.

[@RafaCarrillo]

I can see it perfectly people in wheelchairs parking in the handicap spot and immediately standing up from their chairs and walking perfectly normal. Or they could leave the chairs and continue their way by dragging on the ground, they stop and turn around to click their keychain alarm to lock their vehicle

[@Joker22593]

The real problem with most later leslie neilsen movies is that they don't get HIS joke. He's suppossed to be 100% serious. He's the straight man who DOESN'T notice the joke!

[@marymary83436]

I always notice and love that about him because he does it so good.

[@KnakuanaRka]

Yeah, he was hired for Airplane specifically because he took himself very seriously in his previous films, and watching him (and everyone else) make fools of themselves with straight faces was the whole joke of that film.

[@kaciusmaximus1809]

Precisely why I think the Police Squad series is superior to Naked Gun movies

[@cosmoissleeping]

Saying a movie is one big Family Guy cutaway joke is the most vicious hit I've ever heard on any movie

[@torstenscholz6243]

It really reminds me a lot of the Cartoon Wars episode of South Park. South Park are ZAZ, where every gag is well-crafted and makes sense. These poor knockoffs are Family Guy, where they just throw in as many random gags and pop-cultural references as possible.

[@futuristica1710]

@@torstenscholz6243Cry harder.

[@nickthelick]

God, I fucking hate Family Guy. Most unfunny show ever.

[@nickthelick]

​@@futuristica1710Is that a parody too?

[@molanohouse]

​​@@nickthelick and I think that Family Guy is overhated.

[@haydenmillholland4496]

I married my wife over our love for repossessed. Our first date we went back to my house after watching Grudge 2 and she was looking at my movies and could not believe someone else had seen repossessed and we've been together ever since.

[@KairuHakubi]

i have to admit, it sounds like a really good premise and some of the jokes are okay.

[@oz_jones]

That's actually pretty sweet (as in saccharine, not the 90s sweet)

[@onepiece666]

Leslie bringing true lovers together, now thats my kind of story for my favourite detective

[@spenser9908]

I had a similar thing, but it was the movie The Jerk.

[@Dr.Thirteen-bb1ub]

Imagine if the movie you bonded over was something like Salo.

[@leprechaunfarmer4081]

Friedberg and Seltzer actually had nothing to do with Scary Movie; it was written entirely by Shawn and Marlon Wayans, Phil Johnson and Buddy Beauman. The reason Friedberg and Seltzer were given writer’s credit was because they had written a similar script for Dimension Films entitled “Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween” before they went with the Wayans script

[@FMAkers-jq2kh]

“Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween” (SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH)

[@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917]

They did do Scary Movie 3 and 4, though.

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

That's why they were the "From Two of the Six Writers of Scary Movie."

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

​@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917Due to undercutting the Wayans as they were able to make a movie at a fraction of the price.

[@leprechaunfarmer4081]

@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917 No they didn’t those were done by the Zuckers. They did however write the first draft for 3, which was titled “Scary Movie 3 Episode 1: Lord of the Brooms” and as its title suggests, would’ve mainly spoofed Star Wars Episode 1, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter

[@danielharrison5868]

That reprocessed "word on the street" joke is really solid, admittedly given the expression it'd probably work better in a police film but still

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

I also liked the fake split screen and the Father greeting. Still, a few hits in a sea of misses.

[@mightyrobot42]

They used the same joke in the Get Smart reunion movie from the 1980s. (Not The Nude Bomb or the one with Steve Carell, the other one.)

[@EinDose]

A good 'joke every ten seconds' movie will have so many good ones that you just keep laughing the whole way through. A bad 'joke every ten seconds' movie just has a handful of gags that deserve better than what they're in.

[@timmyb7734]

Pretty sure they did that joke in Kentucky Fried Movie and Monty Python had man in the street, who happened to be hit by traffic.

[@marklafrance8141]

I love it when foo-foo jumps into the chipper. And the party line joke is a riot!

[@JeonardShadby505]

The worst part is that Friedberg and Seltzer promoted their shitty movies as coming from "2 of the 6 guys who wrote SCARY MOVIE", even though neither of them wrote a single word of that flick. Also, I just love you using angry reactions of George C. Scott.

[@MLennholm]

_Spy Hard_ is one of the few comedies I ever went to see in a movie theater. I don't remember a single thing about it except Weird Al's title music.

[@theotakux5959]

To be fair, that's the only part anyone likes.

[@DanPantzig]

The only memorable part honestly

[@MLennholm]

I figured as much. Weird Al is never not awesome.

[@scottvincent184]

Well I do remember one scene where this kid sets up traps for the criminals like in Home Alone, and none of them work, they grab him by his feet and drag him around while insulting his movie roles, at one point stating "this is for My Girl, and My Girl 2!" at which point the kid replies "I wasn't even in My Girl 2!" 😅

[@theotakux5959]

What's weird is it was released as a music video, too. I first saw it on a Weird Al DVD collection. They removed all the credits, which made it look weird since there are times when he or other things were supposed to interact with them. The only one left in was his credit. Which was ALSO weird, because without the rest, it just randomly has "Theme Song by "Weird Al" Yankovic" pop up in the middle of the video.

[@flippedoutkyrii]

Adjusted for inflation, 2001 A Space Travesty had a budget of nearly 82 million dollars, how the *HELL* did it look so cheap?

[@darkain666]

Money laundering/tax evasion.

[@BiffGreggle]

The funny thing about Wrongfully Accused is that most of the humor is aimed at the sensibility of pre-teens (hence why it was a favorite of mine when I was 12), yet it sends up a bunch of movies aimed at adults. It wasn't until years later that I saw "The Fugitive," "The Usual Suspects" etc. and went "ohhh, THAT'S what they were making fun of!"

[@sird2333]

The rock, rock, cat was what I remember from this movie. I cracked up!

[@yummyjackalmeat]

I was going to comment the same thing. I loved this movie when it came out (age 11 or so)

[@KairuHakubi]

in fairness, that's what a lot of media back then did. I understood that these are simply cultural touchstones and I was meant to know them and would eventually.

[@spenser9908]

A bus careening off the road because of a banana peel, and an irate driver yelling, "You pee-pee head!" is perfect silliness. Still holds up.

[@BiffGreggle]

@@spenser9908 *YOU* ARE THE PEE-PEE HEAD!!!

[@davegriener]

Ray Charles driving the “speed” bus was actually pretty funny.

[@wstine79]

Repossessed is the real Exorcist 2, in my opinion.

[@nighttimevideo]

Repossessed >>>>>> The Exorcist: Believer

[@diablorojo3887]

@@nighttimevideo is funny how repossessed take the original movie more serious than "exorcist: the believer"

[@mysteriousbob]

Exorcist 2: The Heretic is funnier than Repossessed.

[@luchomscyfy]

The Exorcist: Believers is so bad they remade Repossessed.

[@ChalkiePerfect]

Is there a psychic mind-reading dream machine in repossessed?

[@timthememer2785]

I have this vivid memory of getting 2001: A Space Travesty and being mildly annoyed that they misspelled Nielsen's surname as 'Nielson' on the box. He was literally the selling point of that thing and they couldn't even get his name right.

[@enchantro]

I LOVED “Dracula, Dead and Loving It”🥰

[@TheIceAnt]

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE FURNITURE?!

[@FreeArtFreestheWorld]

I wouldn't say it's good but it certainly has moments.

[@thewingedringer]

@@FreeArtFreestheWorld it's decent

[@anton1990]

”I see Van Helsing, you are a man who likes to have the last word…” I love it, as well. It’s in my opinion Mel Brooks most overlooked film.

[@MarisaReset]

@@thewingedringer I honestly think it's a really funny parody of 1931's Dracula. Peter MacNicol's performance as Renfield feels over-the-top at first, but go back and watch the original film and you realize his impression of Dwight Frye is spot-on. I love it, such an underrated Mel Brooks film. I'll be killed for this, but I find it more enjoyable to go back to (and better aged) than both Spaceballs and Robin Hood Men In Tights.

[@JesamyPorter]

Spy Hard is actually one of my most favorite movies of all time. I saw it multiple times in theaters and have been a HUGE Weird Al fan ever since. The day Leslie Nielsen died I was working at a credit card company and a customer called to activate his credit card and he said "hey no one knows this yet but Leslie Nielsen died and it hasn't hit the news yet, you can be one of the first to know.' 2 hours later his death was announced.

[@Ebastine]

Yeah Spy Hard is great!

[@marymary83436]

Finally someone else thinks it's one of his best movies I know I do.

[@markkostka6897]

What is the crap about Leslie Nielson dying stuff. How weird to add that. Who knows or cares if it is true.

[@drumcanjones]

At least Repossessed has an absolute banger of a theme song. RE-RE-RE REPOSSESSED! 🎶

[@mattjindrak]

Oh no!

[@Jabberwockybird]

What about Spy Hard by Weird Al?

[@darthtepes]

Devil in the blue dress, devil in the blue dress, devil in the blue dress oh!

[@davidl570]

@@darthtepes Easily the funniest scene in that movie!

[@davidl570]

Love the Repossessed theme song! Too damn funny.

[@Assimandeli]

I remember Wrongfully Accused having some pretty solid gags in the first half when Leslie goes on the run. The movie then runs out of steam in the second half, but it's still miles above Spy Hard.

[@afiqdharma]

The train peeking behind a tree killed me

[@BugsyFoga]

Pre scary movie parody flicks were certainly fascinating.

[@CinemaMack]

Hot Shots, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Airplane!...all classics.

[@mistercruise]

@@CinemaMack Those are classics, and I love "Top Secret" as well 👍

[@Bowiiihowdy]

​@@CinemaMackhot shots part deux was hilarious

[@nickrustyson8124]

@@CinemaMack Don't Be A Menace To South Central While You're Drinking Your Juice In Da Hood

[@Dr170]

The humourousness, if any, is debatable, but watching Linda Blair's joyous catharsis in reclaiming agency of her chequered legacy in Repossessed will never not be a Great Thing.

[@trybunt]

It'll always never not be not horrible

[@hahasamian8010]

​@@trybuntPlease don't do that again, it hurts my brain trying to parse it

[@TheSuckoShow]

Knowing Leslie was a B-movie guy for most of his career, becoming an actual STAR late in life, he maybe never learned to say no to a project

[@torstenscholz6243]

Nielsen really had an odd career - struggled to get successful and evolve from mediocre roles in mediocre B-movies for decades, then became a world-famous star for a few excellent films and then got back to almost entirely making b-movies again.

[@pronkb000]

@@torstenscholz6243 I wonder if he'd have been better off still taking a few straight roles. He showed he could still play an effective, serious creep in "Nuts." He's almost the anti-Jeff Daniels, a "serious" actor who took a goofy comedy to broaden his range and thus his negotiating leverage, but didn't let the role of Harry Dunne completely consume him.

[@mrcritical6751]

@@pronkb000he should have, honestly. Lesley was not a naturally funny guy, he was just given the right script and given the right direction. If he’d taken the fame he’d acquired through Airplane and Naked Gun and funnelled it into a career in serious dramas then he might have had a better revived career

[@nickrustyson8124]

@@pronkb000 That's the thing pre Naked Gun he was, Prom Night, and Creepshow 2? (It might be in the first film, he was in the story of a dude who bury people in the beach and records them drowning)

[@dschehutinefer5627]

@@mrcritical6751 Having seen a few interviews of Leslie Nielsen (which actually caused the algorithm to bring me here), I get the impression that he'd disagree. A common theme in his explanations of his move into becoming a purely comedic actor is that he used to put a lot of pressure on himself to get title roles and fame and that it made him unhappy that he never really lifted off in serious roles. And that stopping to take himself seriously has taken that load off of him. Towards the end of his life, he just loved being the bonkers old guy (and being adored for it).

[@victornewmanforever]

About 2001: One or two years ago, there was a podcast about Leslie with the writers and directors of Repossessed, Spy Hard and 2001. One of the writers of 2001 is American and the director is Canadian so I don't know why you assume Leslie would have been confused during the shooting. The interview with the writer and the director was pretty revealing. The truth is that, and this one hurts, Leslie co-wrote the film (uncredited). It was his project as a producer, and he was really involved in the process. So much that he constantly reminded the director that HE made all of those successful spoofs so HE knew what made them work. After one week of shooting, there was this scene where he has to fall over a table. Despite the director's recommendation, he decided to do his own stunt, arguing he did it many times on The Naked Gun. It ended with a broken nose and a day at the hospital. The director thought the movie was over but Leslie came on set the next day with a broken nose (which they tried to avoid filming) and personally apologized to the director. Another anecdote: For the scene with the goats, the unexperimented foreign crew hired a person who owned goats but the goats had never been on a set before! The shooting of that scene was such a mess that it also hurt the schedule pretty badly. From what the director said, Leslie was really proud of the film anyway. The director, who had never shot a comedy before, promised himself to never shoot a comedy ever again.

[@mrcritical6751]

Do you know what podcast that was? Honestly that sounds very likely and very tragic. I can picture Leslie, his star fading and desperate to reignite it, writing up 2001 to try and recapture his glory days without realising why people liked his movies and that he was just too old by that point to effectively lead them. Also shows that potentially he didn’t resist know why he was a success, he was just glad he was a success, which I just find sad if I’m being honest

[@victornewmanforever]

@@mrcritical6751 Last time I checked the podcast was deleted from KZbin so I didn't bother to subscribe and I can't remember the name. I tried to google it using keywords without much success.

[@torstenscholz6243]

Gee, now these are some interesting facts that shine a whole new light on that film: It's not that some money-hungry Italian producers talked him into the film in order to cash in on his name, this really seemed to be his own vanity project - and ego-driven vanity projects rarely turn out good. He seemed to think he was in so many spoof movies he knows how to make them himself - but boy, was he wrong about that.

[@DrMcFly28]

Space Travesty was in continual rotation on Sky Movies in the 00s. It felt like if you randomly switched to that channel, there was at least 50% chance you'll get to see Leslie mugging for the camera in that f-ing opera hall scene. For someone who was a fan of Leslie from the days of Airplane and Police Squad this was pure torture.

[@rosskwolfe]

Have you seen "Spanish Movie"? It was an attempt by some Spanish filmmakers to make their own "Movie" parody, and it was Nielson's last starring role.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Wow, there's so many of these movies I've never even heard of.

[@torstenscholz6243]

First he starred in a movie written by Italians produced by Germans and then in a Spanish one? It just gets weirder and weirder. What would have been next had he lived on? Nigerian or Venezuelan Movie?

[@MrEdWeirdoShow]

Interesting. I'm still trying to figure out that Casa Padre semi-Spanish film by Will Farell.

[@rosskwolfe]

@MrEdWeirdoShow I haven't seen that but have heard if it. Wasn't it trying to parody Telenovelas?

[@FreeArtFreestheWorld]

I remember watching Space Travesty in a disgusting hotel room during one of my dark times when I was young. Seemed fitting. I did a double take at the beginning of the movie when Nielsen mentions the hunt for bin Laden. Another reminder the movie came out in 2000...

[@MrJohnlennon007]

Predictive Programming regarding the Bin Laden bit

[@100domathon]

Osama Bin Laden was starting to get international media attention in the late 1990s. I remember back in 1999 hearing about Osama Bin Laden

[@oldhickory4686]

@@MrJohnlennon007 Yep, just like Lee Harvey Oswald was being interviewed about Marxism prior to...

[@murrfeeling]

@@MrJohnlennon007 Was the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi and the subsequent elevation of Osama to the FBI 10 most wanted list in '99 also part of the predictive programming?

[@favoritemustard3542]

@murrfeeling they didn't live through it, so it either didn't happen or it's just a meme.

[@BurtSampson]

When I was younger I decided to go see Spy Hard one day while i was at my grandma's for the summer. I was legit the only human being in that theater. Not a single other person was there. I really enjoyed it, both being the only person in the theater, and the movie. lol

[@RichV20]

Where did your Grandma live? Ive been to a few first-run movies where I'm the only person there or maybe 2-3 people besides me. I skipped school one day and saw a 2pm screening of "Dead Man On Campus" I was the only one in there. I left halfway through, it sucked.

[@BurtSampson]

@@RichV20 she lived in a town in southern Indiana.

[@wstine79]

Leslie Nielson was in "2001: A Space Travesty" and not one "Forbidden Planet" reference? What a waste.

[@VinluvAntonHandesbukia]

That's what I said when I saw Shakira!

[@jasonblalock4429]

Even Robby the Robot wouldn't cameo in that stinker!

[@jeshkam]

*Nielsen

[@RIUUI007]

@@jeshkam and *waste

[@stickershock66]

That would mean the writers actually cared even a little bit about the script.

[@perunplague9794]

Never realized Spy Hard and Wrongfully Accused were two of his worst, I loved them

[@nicholasvinen]

The latter is a great parody of The Fugitive. The Usual Suspects scene was the best! Spy Hard is not as good but still funny.

[@marymary83436]

I was a little confused at the comment until I found yours because I loved spy hard and realized this is about it being the worst one.has you can tell I jumped to the comment section first I probably should watch it first.lol

[@azn1011]

wait the actual handicapped symbols in the parking spots? wtf? yeah actual wheelchairs would have a) made sense and b) been funnier because it'd make more sense

[@Jakeinlivincolor]

There's sort of a funny-esque joke in the movie Stealing Harvard where it's the beginning and Jason Lee is explaining his life up to that point in the story, and the place he works at is called "HomeSpital" that specializes in home medical care. Anyways, there's a brief funny bit when he pulls into work and he's fairly far from the store because most of the spots are handicapped spaces.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

If I wanted to do the symbol joke, I think I'd do it such that you see somebody being wheeled out to a car parked in the space while in a full-body cast in the handicap symbol pose.

[@jamstonjulian6947]

Would have been cheaper too

[@torstenscholz6243]

Yeah, that's an example of what happens when you want to throw in a ZAZ-style visual gag, yet don't come up with a good one but use it anyway because you want to have at least one joke every ten seconds.

[@hairy_cornflake]

I have to admit Dracula Dead and Loving it, Repossessed, Spy Hard and Wrongfully Accused were some of my favorite comedies growing up. But even at the time I knew Space Travesty was awful, in my country it was even renamed as if it was a sequel to Police Squad.

[@mistercruise]

Same here. They were a huge part of my childhood/teen years

[@torstenscholz6243]

In Germany, the film premiered so late that its title was changed to 2002. Which pretty much ruined the title joke as it was a parody of 2001 A Space Odyssey - and also was one of the few good jokes in the entire film.

[@realGBx64]

Repossessed I haven’t seen but Dracula and Spy Hard and Wrongfully Accused was beloved comedies of my childhood even without having seen most of the stuff they parody

[@dschehutinefer5627]

@@realGBx64 To be fair, Dracula is a good, well structured movie, it got panned mostly because its jokes were oddly understated for a Mel Brooks movie. A shame, really. The staking scene still has burned itself into my mind. Wrongfully Accused is also a beloved childhood movie of mine and watching it now as an adult, it is at times a bit confused narratively, but the onslaught of hard hitting visual gags at times reach Naked Gun levels. To this day the hydraulic car scene can still put me into uncontrollable laughter for several minutes! Spy Hard I actually haven't seen. I vaguely remember switching into Repossessed on TV and being utterly bored and confused about what was going on, so I didn't watch it much. But a Space Travesty I did watch and... I have vague memories of the Bill Clinton gags, but otherwise it was a very forgettable experience, but not necessarily a really bad one. So I guess I'd rate Repossessed worse.

[@shinyagumon7015]

Repossessed feels like it's going for the ZAZ style of putting absurdist background gags in every scene, but as you said, the gags they use are just way too confusing to really land. Which is a shame because an Exorcist parody co-starring the original actress from The Exorcist sounds like a great concept on paper. Also, I might be wrong, but I always heard that Feinberg and Seltzer got their start in the industry because they unfairly got a writer's credit on the original Scary Movie. Like they wrote a completely unrelated script, also called Scary Movie, and sued the studio, claiming they ripped off their concept, so they got writer's credit to shut them up.

[@hesnotquitedead]

Yeah. The Wayans Bros. talked about it in a podcast interview in 2012. Basically, the Wayans and their guys (who were two writers from the sitcom The Wayans Bros.) were making their own horror spoof movie at the same time and separately as Seltzer and Friedberg were working on their respective horror spoof movie. But thanks to a decision made by the Writer’s Guild of America, all the writers were given credit for the movie despite the fact that Seltzer and Friedberg never worked directly with the Wayans and co.

[@kamdan2011]

The director’s commentary on the German Blu-ray revealed that the movie was intended to be more of a direct parody of The Exorcist, but the management of the studio changed and they decided to make movie’s humor broader to be more appealing to younger audiences.

[@oz_jones]

@@kamdan2011 Suits ruining things? Say it isn't so!

[@nickrustyson8124]

@@hesnotquitedead Which sucks for the Waynes because now those bad parodies of the 2000s get tied to them for no reason

[@LynnHermione]

Dracula Dead and Loving It is a stone cold classic, AND a fairly good adaptation of Dracula. I love that silly ovie to pieces.

[@darthtepes]

to date, this is the only version that has a very accurate depiction of Jonathan - bland and slightly annoying😁 Steven did such a good job!

[@englishatheart]

I like the movie, but it most definitely isn't a good Dracula adaptation. I am still waiting for people to learn Dracula wasn't hurt by the sun. That's how I know a person hasn't actually read the book or at least researched it first.

[@gw7120]

Yo that train hunting him down off the tracks in Wronglyfully Accused is the funniest scene ever

[@timkemmer4565]

Bill and Hillary having no chemistry is actually correct.

[@favoritemustard3542]

The closest they ever got to it was being called Billary as a joke lol

[@nickrustyson8124]

@@favoritemustard3542 Someone is out there on Twitter or Tumblr who makes ships based off of US presidents and that is one of their favorite ships

[@DiRtYLaWs2007]

I’m glad I’m not alone with my love for Repossessed. Absolutely hilarious.

[@englishatheart]

There's plenty of people out there with bad taste. 😛

[@tkthetank]

Thank god you posted this. I have vivid memories from when I was a young kid (prolly like 6 or 7) of Leslie Nielsen being in The Exorcist and I never knew why lol

[@josh24441]

I think the biggest problem with repossessed is that it came out while the naked gun was still fresh in everyone’s mind. And it was trying too hard to be another naked gun movie. Basically I think it just came out at the wrong time.

[@andreasbenning]

I came in to this ready to yell "HEY!! SPY HARD IS FUNNY!!!". But I didn't recognize one single scene you showed from it, so I don't know what other movie I was thinking about. Your suggestion with empty wheelchairs in the parking spots were comedy gold!! xD

[@sizzis2045]

Funny thing is that the Italian screenwriter of A Space Travesty (Ezio Greggio) did previously work and star with Mel Brooks in a couple of parody movies already (Silence of the Hams, Screw Loose, for example), which turned out to be actually quite good. I don't think that the problem with the Leslie Nielsen movie was one of language barriers, if there were any.

[@SimonCallahan]

Space Travesty came out theatrically here in Canada, too, but apparently went straight-to-video in the US? I never saw it until it came to the free movie channels on cable here (TMN, I believe it was called, which literally showed movies 24/7). The only thing I remember being funny about it was the ending credits. During the end credits they do the thing like the old Zucker/Abrhams/Zucker movies did where they include jokes within the text of the credits. One of the jokes was a bit of text stating that there would be milk and cookies out in the theatre lobby after the movie ended (which is a weird joke since the plan was to release the movie straight-to-video in the US). When the credits ended, there was another message, "Sorry, no milk and cookies, here's this fart reel to make it up to you", and the movie then played a bunch of fart sounds in a row while giving the name of the fart sound from the sound library. I think it was the only part of the movie that made my family laugh out loud.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Leslie Nielson was known for carrying around a "fart machine", so he was probably on board with that kind of joke.

[@nugster]

when I was 15 years old, I scored a visit to a practical effects house. As a film buff since I was a wee child, I was so excited to see some special make up and practical effects in real life and up close. When I first walked in, I immediately saw the egg from the Barney movie haha! I was like “holy shit! The egg from Barney!” Anyway, I was allowed to see what they were working on but I had to promise not to tell what I saw until after the projects were released. The first thing I saw were two huge sumo wrestler asses. I asked what it was for and they told me “the new Leslie Nelson film!” After I saw all the props, effects and gags, I’m telling you, I KNEW it was going to either straight to video, or striking to day time hbo. It had nothing to do with thier work, I just could “smell it”. Sure enough…

[@TheClutchCanuck]

The hardest laugh I had with Spy Hard was my friend telling me Andy Griffith plays the bad guy

[@Nick-ty9us]

Because that is not a guy you associate with playing a bad guy, so he did play Lonesome Roads in 1957

[@christopherwall2121]

​@@Nick-ty9us Yeah, and IIRC, after _A Face In The Crowd_ , he swore off playing villains, because the effect playing Lonesome had on him scared him.

[@Nick-ty9us]

@@christopherwall2121 I mean, I’ve seen a face in the crowd and I can’t really blame him for not a bad guy that frequently after that, I can’t really blame

[@Nick-ty9us]

@@christopherwall2121 and I can’t really blame him that character was rather terrifying

[@Nick-ty9us]

@@christopherwall2121 I’ve seen a face in the crowd and I can’t blame them for having swore off playing villains after that film

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Dracula Dead and Loving it is a mixed bag from Mel Brooks but my god when it lands a joke, I am howling with laughter. The Staking Scene and anything with Renfield are why I can’t hate it

[@franciswaterson2807]

"Guard! Get Back to Work!!"

[@MrEdWeirdoShow]

Recently found Drac Dead in blu-ray and snagged it like a champ. Very funny. Remember that "and loving it" bit is one of Mel Brooks' classics, since he had also used it as a tagline for Maxwell Smart in his TV hit Get Smart.

[@hcdodge4991]

Ezio Greggio from the dire 2001: A Space Travesty I noticed on IMDb had also been in Dracula: Dead and Loving It, though that movie's not fresh enough in my memory to recall his role. He'd also been in the parody film The Silence of the Hams (1994), which I do remember finding far funnier than I had expected it would be. Possibly other films he's done are also parodies of the same nature?

[@EdWebChannel]

In "Dracula Dead and Loving It" he was the coachman at the beginning of the movie. He also directed, in Italy, another parody movie called "Box Office 3D", but it was very bad 😅😅 I love "Silence of the hams", his funniest film as a director

[@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917]

You should check out Zeroman. Leslie Nielsen plays an elderly superhero. It's a great show with a very catchy theme song. It apparently would have gotten a second season if Leslie hadn't passed away.

[@dcflake5645]

Spy Hard was my first time seeing Weird Al

[@TheIceAnt]

“And just in case you came in late… allow me to reiterate, the name of this movie…. “IS SPY HAAAAAAARD!!”

[@RW77777777]

I did see Space Travesty on release in theatre in Japan no one laughed either. You're right about Wrongfully Accused, it's infinitely quotable

[@billymountiii5788]

I actually liked Dracula: Dead and loving it and Wrongfully Accused

[@billymountiii5788]

I even bought Dracula: Dead and loving it on Blu Ray from scream factory.

[@24cptjohnson]

Love those movies as well

[@thibaud1832]

Even weak Mel Brooks movies are still entertaining. I really enjoy Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

[@billymountiii5788]

@@thibaud1832 I absolutely love Robin Hood: Men in Tights, it's one of my favorite Robin Hood movies

[@kamdan2011]

I highly recommend you get the upcoming Repossessed Blu-ray Kino Lorber will put out late in the year. It should have the director’s commentary from the German release that is very revealing on how much was changed without his consent.

[@victornewmanforever]

And the guy is leaving before the ending because it's too much to handle. 🤯

[@kamdan2011]

@@victornewmanforever Yeah, especially since the movie is only 80 minutes long. Felt bad for thinking that Gene Okerlund and Jesse Ventura’s running commentary was my favorite part of the movie. It’s a shame that he couldn’t reconstruct his original version.

[@victornewmanforever]

@@kamdan2011 At least, there is a script floating around wih the missing stuff.

[@kamdan2011]

@@victornewmanforever Ooh! I’d like to read that!

[@victornewmanforever]

@@kamdan2011 I know you can buy a pdf of it on script city.

[@richardgadberry8398]

I loved "Repossessed"

[@Brian-qn7fn]

You may have issues.

[@Invidente7]

​@@Brian-qn7fn No, he actually has a good sense of humor.

[@MrKaywyn]

Absolutely fascinating. I particularly like your point about Nielsen becoming more self aware rather than acting as if he is in a drama.

[@Coolcoolcooldude]

For Halloween this year, you should talk about the Tim Burton Hansel and Gretal special he made for Disney Channel as a forgotten failure.

[@fantabulospleef]

What the Actual F* was that?! Thank you.

[@CatraDhtem]

Ezio Greggio had previously helmed his own spoof movie in the 1990s post-'Naked Gun" wave, "Silence of the Hams." "Wrongfully Accused," while watchable, suffers from an excessive use of ADR to either add jokes or hit you over the head with an existing joke.

[@peglor]

Dom Deluise's character, Animal Cannibal Pizza, singlehandedly made Silence of the Hams watchable.

[@rootfish2671]

I love Leslie Nielson but yeah he starred in a lot of stinkers but he’s got to eat too.

[@jeshkam]

*Nielsen

[@mattjindrak]

Not no more. RIP

[@Kingofb0ngstyle]

He passed away before COVID

[@torstenscholz6243]

Nielsen really had an odd career - there are not many actors that became so legendary despite heaving been in so few good movies and so many terrible ones.

[@HVVVVVVVV]

“The movie was written by two italian screenwriters, for a German production company, who shot the movie in Canada, for a theatrical release in Japan.” I feel like my brain had a stroke from that.

[@pronkb000]

"...ex-boxer from Detroit, his real name was Joey Chicago." "Oh yeah, he fought under the name of Kid Minneapolis." "Hey, I saw Kid Minneapolis fight once, in Cincinnati." "No, you're thinking of Kid New York, he fought out of Philly." "He was killed in the ring in Houston. By Tex Colorado--you know, the Arizona Assassin?" "Yeah, from Dakota. I don't remember if it was North or South." "North! South Dakota was his brother, from West Virginia!"

[@dirtybombshelter]

Canada finally included in the axis of evil, good to see.

[@bjchit]

Damn near had the full Axis Powers of Film going for it.

[@JoeyEsqueda]

I watched all of these as a kid, and I would laugh my hat off. But I don't feel the need to rewatch as an adult. Maybe this video will inspire me to seek one out.

[@wayn0r]

I think you need to have nostalgia for Repossessed. I taped it off of cable as a kid (probably The Movie Channel) and watched it frequently. For me, it’s a fun, stupid time. The increasing weirdness of the premise as the film goes on is past of the charm. It was also fun to check back in with it as an adult and catch one or two jokes that went over my head as a kid. I would still heartily recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of film.

[@ITSAHARDNUGLIFE]

There's actually things I missed that I found hilarious that weren't even meant to make you laugh. Like Ernest and Fanny's "Miracle Hour" when Fanny starts doing her annoying laugh after the audience says, "Hi Foo Foo." Ernest's face expresses the same way we, as the audience, would feel having to hear that. The warning: do not reverse...tire damage?...comedy gold! Jesse Ventura's part? Also comedy gold! Might be just me, but it hits me in the funny gut harder as an adult.

[@frankreads8618]

Repossessed has a remarkably subtle joke that I just now noticed. Linda Blair's character in Repossessed is named Nancy, and her character in The Exorcist is named Regan. Who was Ronald Reagan's wife? Nancy Reagan. I'm honestly kinda surprised they slipped in something that subtle and clever.

[@karl6852]

Thank goodness you closed the loop and told us who Reagan's wife was. We never would have made the connection otherwise.

[@Nick-ty9us]

You know, I didn’t notice that at all

[@dragonfurry69]

I saw Space Travesty on cable, and I thought the channel was ruining it because they were speeding it up (they did that sometimes back in the day). I didn't realize it was *supposed* to be that way in parts. Glad I haven't watched it since.

[@nicholasruhling6429]

I love Leslie Nielsen, but Abrahams and the Zuckers definitely brought more out of him than anyone else could

[@tolsen8212]

Wrongfully Accused is laugh out loud hilarious. One of the funniest spoof movies ever made.

[@scottvincent184]

I completely forgot Jimmy from Seinfeld is in Repossessed, "Jimmy will see ya later" 😂

[@LilTurtleBug]

I immediately recognized Jimmy as the Repossessed guy!!!

[@scottvincent184]

@@LilTurtleBug Jimmy likes it 😆

[@spenser9908]

I think Elaine could've done worse than Jimmy.

[@TheWinstonSlip]

Jimmy’s gonna get you Kramer!

[@scottvincent184]

Elaine got a new dress..

[@JustinProper]

This was all over my recommended feed. It's good to know the algorithm works every now & then

[@billlonee9470]

"Repossessed" director Bob Logan also directed "Meatballs 4." As there was never a "Meatballs 5," it's clear that he killed the series.

[@Kingofb0ngstyle]

I didn't even know there was more than one

[@DeadpoolNegative]

That movie starred Corey Feldman and actually ends with Feldman screaming "Hey, I was in Goonies, you know!"

[@mikeydflyingtoaster]

Any script that has [Leslie mugs to the camera] in it has completely misunderstood why you cast him

[@lolamonroe5910]

I loved anything Leslie was in he played a major part of my childhood RIP to him❤

[@davidadein]

That Wheelchair Joke is pretty good. So is the word on the street joke. I chuckled at both in your video.

[@darkwave9345]

spy hard is a masterpiece and i wont hear anything else

[@KR1736]

Wrongly Accused is one of my favorite movies ever

[@ItsThatRetro]

Did they call her Nancy as a "Nancy Reagan" joke?

[@victornewmanforever]

Yes.

[@tobznoobs]

very clever. imagine the people who worked at the exorcist seeing this movie and wondering why did they name linda as regan.

[@nickrustyson8124]

@@tobznoobs Because Regan is a name

[@ahok1937]

In the 2001 movie, the blonde woman is the singer/tv host Ophelie Winter, one of the biggest star at the time in France (but her fame was very short lived, and pretty much based on her physique). it's also a "guest star", even if not a lot of people remember her now. Look up for "Dieu m'a donné la foi", her biggest hit, which is still pretty catchy. I remember at the time the movie got a lot of coverage in France because of this, and i actually rented it since i was a big fan of Naked Gun. I don't remember anything about it, so i guess it's pretty telling. Since there's also the italian actor in it, i guess they tried to appel to european audiences.

[@rayname908]

You poor dear. The genius of Leslie Nielsen was he was dry and out of place in ridiculous situations. Airplane!, the hilarious Police Squad TV series and film reboots, Naked Gun 123 are great.

[@williamg3165]

You know, I gotta say Spy Hard may suck. However, The Weird Al Yankovic song and opening is worth the price of admission alone!

[@johnburns9634]

Proving that if you let Weird Al be Weird Al, the World will be better off!

[@MikoSquiz]

I think it's a perfectly okay wacky farce spoof movie. It's not great but it's better than Dracula: Dead & Loving It.

[@mikelippenkrantz]

@@MikoSquiz There are some good gags in it (no, I'm NOT gonna give Seltzer/Friedberg credit for that) but Leslie was just too old and cuddly to play a convincing suave superspy at that point. Maybe if they'd cast Cary Elwes it could've worked slightly better.

[@davidl570]

@@MikoSquiz I think Dracula is MILES better than Spy Hard.

[@rickastley2308]

I don't like all three movies, but I remember Spy Hard as less "offensive" in this trio. There is some strange unfunny weirdness in Repossessed and Space Travesty is extremely horrible. Spy Hard is weak and primitive but I can describe it as a comedy. Btw, Wrongfully Accused is stupidly hilarious. That train scene is a masterpiece.

[@nicholasvinen]

The scene from Wrongfully Accused I remember most is the one parodying The Usual Suspects! Where are you from? Uhhh... Mensroom? 😅

[@darthtepes]

It's weird but Wrongfully Accused was my introduction to Leslie Nielsen's comedy heritage (although we had the Naked Gun trilogy and Arplaine! on VHS, I picked the Ryan Harrison movie for no particular reason to watch), and I liked it. There were severa jokes not considered proper for my age at the time but still😏 (cough cough Lauren cough cough)... it has some iconic scenes that really outshined the original movies they were making fun of (like Mel Gibson reference, train chase etc. - those are tiny but they just get stuck in memory and are so well-performed). And it was also the second time I saw Richard Crenna as a parody / self-parody after Hot Shots 2, good duo anyway😍

[@JDelwynn]

For some reason the opening of Scary Movie 2 is a way better spoof of The Exorcist than the entirety of Re-posessed...

[@treferro533]

"The movie was written by two Italian screenwriters..." (shows a clip of Italian actor Ezio Greggio) "...for a German production company..." (shows credits of German production companies) "...who shot the movie in Canada.." (shows a clip of Canadian-American actor Leslie Nielsen) "....for a theatrical release in Japan." (shows a clip of Leslie getting sandwiched by two sumo wrestlers) I swear this channel never fails with its clever editing style.

[@stephanberger3476]

Ezio is great in Silence of the Hams!

[@torstenscholz6243]

To make it perfect, at "...for a German production company...", he should have shown the Germans dancing in Lederhosen.

[@spencerkindra8822]

I'll bet production was a goddamn mess. Like Apocalypse Now levels except the movie isn't 1/20th as good haha.

[@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip]

I have seen Spy Hard countless times along with Hot Shots Part Deux, on HBO growing up, love em.

[@CowabungaWo101]

I don’t know why, but can’t help but shake this idea that Spy Hard could have worked if they had Bruce Campbell in the lead. Can deliver dry witty one-liners but also is gifted with physical slapstick AND actually looks like he could play James Bond. I feel like that juxtaposition works funnier than Neilsons more self aware/lame slapstick 90’s era.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I think he could do it now and still make it work.

[@spenser9908]

Stop trying to make Bruce Campbell a thing. He had a lame career for a reason. He sucked.

[@peglor]

@@spenser9908 I think he had a great career - his autobiography was fantastic reading too. If the stuff he made wasn't to your taste that doesn't mean a huge number of other people didn't love it.

[@spenser9908]

@@peglor About five people REALLY like him. Hence his non-existent career.

[@peglor]

​@@spenser9908 He's made a living as an actor for his entire adult life. I wouldn't call that a non-existent career.

[@RoshDroz]

You're a more honorable man than I, tracking down and paying for the actual DVDs of these obscure movies. I'm afraid I probably would've just downloaded them from completely LEGAL sources

[@GoatMalp]

2001 was played all the time on the Canadian Movie Central channel. They needed to play a big percentage of Canadian content, so they played it all in the middle of the night when most of their customers were asleep. It sucked, I worked graveyard and paid for the premium channel that only played crap during my wakijg hours on my days off, AND my taxes were paying to produce said crap.

[@katelynrushe9025]

I think your theory about Leslie Nielsen being shoehorned into “Repossessed” at the last minute is very feasible, because I got that same vibe from “Safety Patrol.” He’s on the poster for that movie like he’s one of the main stars and yet he’s barely in it. Also, Weird Al is in “Safety Patrol” too. I’m curious why he kept popping up in Leslie Nielsen movies as well, especially since “Safety Patrol” isn’t even a parody as far I’m aware.

[@torstenscholz6243]

This just shows what legacy Nielsen had after the Naked Gun films, but also how hard it is to get spoof films right. All those Naked Gun ripoff films really thought they only need to shoehorn in Nielsen and it will be a good spoof film, yet most of the time they had absolutely no idea how to usehim properly.

[@mrcritical6751]

Probably cause they were both the face of parody in different media departments

[@dungeonsanddobbers2683]

"Wrongfully Accused is considered to be the best" I mean, I'm old enough to remember when these movies were coming out and Wrongfully Accused was where the Nielsen's career began to decline.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

I think it's considered the best of a bad bunch as it at least has some connections to the earlier films as the director co-wrote some of them but it's not great. Mr Magoo the previous year didn't do him any favours either.

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

Haven’t seen Repossessed since I was 12 but I thought it was absolutely hilarious back then

[@nighttimevideo]

WAY too harsh on Repossessed, It's finally getting a blu-ray release this year from Kino Lorber. Long overdue, I genuinely like it.

[@nighttimevideo]

Not every joke lands, no denying that. But when they do land, it's worth it. The "word on the street" gag is brilliantly stupid and the other visual gags look like they were done with precision and care. Linda Blair having fun in the film is great too.

[@ITSAHARDNUGLIFE]

Oh, it still lands for me! I used to hate on SpongeBob when it first aired. But something happened in my brain and instead of hating on it, I went on a mission to try understanding why it is funny for others. And of course I love it now! Well, seasons 1-3 the most anyway.

[@EqualOpportunityDestoroya]

Going from Repossessed, showing a clip of Exorcist III, and then Spy Hard with Fabio. I see what you did there, best editing I have ever seen.

[@questionblock8949]

"The Creature Wasn't Nice" aka "Naked Space" aka "Spaceship" is my favourite worst movie of all time lol

[@Cheepchipsable]

What about Day of the Animals?

[@RafaCarrillo]

Ezio Greggio, one of the Italian actors in 2001 A Space Travesty, also directed, wrote and starred in Silence of the Hams, which has at least one Pavarotti joke. So, I'm wondering if Pavarotti and the tenors are some sort of inside joke for Italian people

[@mrcritical6751]

From what I’ve heard, Nielsen did uncredited writing on 2001, so I think the Tenors concert ending might have been his attempt at catching lightning in a bottle, twice and do The Naked Gun climax with the opera singer again

[@RafaCarrillo]

@@mrcritical6751 oh, that's a great point, makes sense

[@mrcritical6751]

@@RafaCarrillo sadly it seems that 2001 was something of a passion project for Nielsen. He went full ego mode and had this whole “I made The Naked Gun movies, I know how to do parody” mentality that seriously clouded his judgement

[@therottenapplepk8881]

I enjoy repossessed and Dracula dead and loving it

[@mightyfilm]

I did enjoy Spy Hard, but it's clearly a Naked Gun 4 fan fic, and it feels like they took the excesses of 33 1/3 up to 11. I will say the one thing that made me actually dislike the movie over time is this. The editing and pacing is screwed up royally. There exists a TV edit that actually ADDS scenes to the movie that help flesh it out a little better. I can't recall them perfectly, but Leslie being strapped to the bed with the bomb attached has a much longer scene, and there's something about them entering the villain's island that at least gives the scene some heft. But they don't even have these preserved on DVD, so you just aren't getting the necessary bulk that keeps the film from being completely "LOL RANDOMZ" and lets things breathe. That said, I saw 2001 and, yeah. The only 2 jokes I legitimately remember are some alien species only taking a dump once a year (something that in retrospect feels like something from Men in Black 2, you know, the worst one), and the Orangina product placement. It feels cheap and like a bad foreign comedy dubbed in English, and the Osama Bin Laden joke at the beginning must've been ADR'd at some point before the US home video release.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Seth MacFarlane's The Orville had a similar joke (but with urination instead of defecation) as the plot of an episode. This alien culture had a sacred ritual around it where they had to go to a specific place on their home planet.

[@mightyfilm]

@@KasumiKenshirou There was a Men in Black cartoon episode where Agent J walked into an alien bathroom, saw a very menacing contraption and sheepishly added "I don't have to go THAT bad." Both jokes at least performed better in their respective shows. I do remember watching 2001 and being disappointed the sci-fi stuff was so brief and unimportant to the film.

[@fluffyman85]

Had the misfortune of seeing Spy Hard in theaters, which aside from the Weird Al theme did not impress me much. Repossessed I caught on cable, actually had seen it before The Exorcist so a lot of jokes flew over my head, though I just didn't remember finding too much amusement. 2001 was a VHS rental and it was absolute pain to sit through, so many jokes tried, so many failed. But yeah I agree with Hats Off how Leslie Nielsen works much better as a straight man in a sea of silliness, when he's in on the joke, it doesn't feel as funny.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

"Repossessed I caught on cable, actually had seen it before The Exorcist so a lot of jokes flew over my head, though I just didn't remember finding too much amusement." Weird Al once said in an interview (and he was absolutely correct) that a good parody should be funny even if you are unfamiliar with the source material. There were a lot of movie parodies in early Simpsons episodes that I thought were funny as a kid, not even realizing they WERE references at all. For example, when Homer buys Lisa a pony and surprises her by putting it in her bed when she's asleep. She then wakes up and freaks out, not expecting a horse's head to be next to hers. I didn't find out until years later that it is a reference to a scene in The Godfather, but it still worked on its own.

[@tyrus1235]

As a kid I watched all of these movies - in fact, I think my dad has them in VHS to this day. We both loved everything that had Leslie in it. And yes, that includes those films... Some of the gags used in this video I still vividly remember watching and laughing about with my dad!

[@mahatmarandy5977]

The handicapped spaces thing is the only gag I laughed at in Reposessed

[@markdubovec5172]

That clip from the Friedberg and Seltzer commentary track for "Date Movie" might be the closest thing they've ever done to anything resembling a funny joke.

[@ackerjawaka1966]

I totally agree with you ⚡ didn't they do epic movie and disaster movie both absolute rubbish, they are trying to make films like scary movie but failing miserably like you say Date Movie was pretty good but that is down to the cast to be honest 😜

[@PuppetDungeon]

Say what you will about Repossessed, but for it's time it really was something special. Keep in mind this predates Stay Tuned, Hot Shots, Loaded Weapon 1, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and even the abysmal Silence of the Hams. Parody was in it's infancy... and this was even weirder... meta parody. Way ahead of it's time, and despite it's shortcomings... kind of a good time. Linda Blair was brilliant, and Nielsen does a decent job being a supporting character. Also, how can you hate the Devil in a Blue Dress scene? It's a friggin' classic.

[@ITSAHARDNUGLIFE]

"That's disgusting Mean Gene! I don't think I've ever seen anything like that, in all my years of wrestling!" Haha

[@AAAA-lt9hq]

You create really great content with well written reviews and commentary. Thank you. I enjoyed "Repossessed." I found the other later Nielsen films to be largely direct-to-video fodder that was frequently shown on Comedy Central during daytime hours in the 1990s (along with *many* SNL rereuns). The later Nielsen movies felt more like cartoons than serious humor, which cheapened the gags even further. That said, the entire parody subgenre pioneered by Zucker/Abrams/Zucker ("Kentucky Fried Movie," "Airplane," "Top Secret," "Naked Gun," "Hot Shots," etc.) would pretty much die a slow death as the 90s progressed and movie tastes changed. The "Scary Movie" films began a drop in quality after 3 and never recovered. What happened in the 2000s was the parody film genre was saturated with terrible movies by Friedberg and Seltzer. Additionally, by the 2000s comedies and movies in general were not as strong as standalone films as they were in the 80s and 90s. More films were being made, sent on a short theater run, and then sent to streaming services within months or even weeks. In previous decades, it would take perhaps six months to a year for a movie to come to VHS and years to come to free television in a form edited for content. As a result, in previous times movies had a longer time to percolate in the public subconscious and become cultural touchstones. You could spoof the pottery scene in "Ghost" and everyone knew what you were talking about. Newer movies didn't have the same impact. Additionally, in previous times comedy films were more respected as an art form and not so divisive. The current culture wars and identity politics have led to a lack of consensus about what is funny. In the 80s and 90s there was broader agreement on what movies were important enough to spoof and how to make these spoofs funny. Jaded audiences today are much more difficult to entertain. If anyone is making comedy movies, it is usually a small group of Frat Pack actors (Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Will Farrell, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Seth Rogan, Judd Apatow, etc.). Why are audiences jaded? As streaming has grown, tastes have fragmented because audiences can watch what they want when they want and ignore the rest. A viewer's entire world is largely tied to their smartphone, not whatever movie companies promote. If parodies are to return, they will have a better chance of success by drawing from memes and social media influences than they do from comedy films. One thing is for sure--we will have a hard time replacing Mr. Nielsen. His humorous turn later in life was so successful because for much of his life he was respected as a serious dramatic actor in a William Shatner and Lorne Green vein (indeed, all were Canadian). By playing against type in Airplane, Police Squad, and then the Naked Gun movies, Nielsen unexpectedly broke out to huge mainstream popularity. He kept taking these roles because he knew they were his strength later in his career. Nielsen's comedic turn would be as if we cast Anthony Hopkins, Shatner (who was himself in Airplane 2), Clint Eastwood, Michael Caine, Rutger Hauer, Tom Selleck, James Woods, Liam Neeson, Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro (see "Dirty Grandpa") or other well-respected veteran dramatic actors with gravitas in consistently comedic roles. Perhaps the closest we have come to this is Samuel L. Jackson's tongue-in-cheek "Snakes on a Plane." But even then these comparisons fall short of how successful Nielsen's later career turn as a comedic actor really was.

[@tyrannosaurusburke]

“Mr. Magoo” was God awful too, although I suppose that’s not a parody movie.

[@nickrustyson8124]

The Tank Cadillac was cool because it's a real thing someone now owns

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Given it was co-written by Pat Proft you'd think it would have been a lot better

[@Gretchaninov]

He was so hilarious. A lot of dramatic actors aren't so good with comedy, but Nielsen understood comedy so well. It is a shame his talent wasn't more fully used, but at least we have the Naked Gun TV show and movies.

[@lucasm.alarcon9897]

The Pavarotti gag its actually funny

[@gnbman]

I highly recommend Spy Hard. It is exactly 50% awful jokes and 50% fantastic jokes. There is no in-between. To me, the jokes that perfectly stick the landing are more than enough to make up for the ones that fall flat on their faces.

[@risboturbide9396]

RIP Leslie Nielsen

[@torstenscholz6243]

R.I.P. He died at the hospital. That's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.

[@davidl570]

@@torstenscholz6243 Surely you can't be serious!