Wrongfully Accused

"Leslie Nielsen is Leslie Nielsen" reads a tongue-in-cheek opening credit in Wrongfully Accused, and no irony could be more bitter. Once Nielsen was a dramatic actor who re-invented himself as a deadpan comedian thanks to Airplane! and Police Squad! But then began a rapid descent into such lame efforts as Spy Hard and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, with the actor turning in self-parodies. A take-off on The Fugitive, among other targets, writer/director Pat Proft's latest features gags that are worse than uninspired--they're uninspired and redundant, the kind of stuff that makes you suspect Proft and Jim Abrahams were sitting in a room together hashing out this film and Mafia!, respectively. How else to explain both films including a shot of a man leaving a lipstick print from a kiss, and a computer generated tongue emerging from someone's ear? Aside from a few scattered moments that aren't head-smackingly obvious (including a decent poke at Mentos commercials), Wrongfully Accused generally offers groaners like Nielsen banging his head on a low bridge while standing on the bow of the Titanic. That's about the level of humor you can expect when a film's number one comedic weapon is Leslie Nielsen as Leslie Nielsen. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)