Is Leslie Nielsen funny?
The creators of the CTV sitcom Robson Arms certainly think that the veteran Canadian actor, who turned 80 this past February, deserves his prominence as a comedy actor. Gary Harvey and Susin Nielsen (no relation) will add Leslie Nielsen to the cast of their show when it returns for a second season this fall. Asked whether he is funny, they say (via email): “Anyone who says ‘no’ to this question is an idiot!”
If so, the idiots include a critic for the online British magazine Film Focus, who saw Nielsen in Scary Movie IV and wrote: “One wonders if it’s not now time for the old fella to retire.” Or film critic MaryAnn Johanson of www.flickfilosopher.com, who says of Nielsen: “He never has been funny.” Or Mark Bazer, a writer for the Boston Phoenix, who summed up this line of thinking several years ago when he wrote: “Leslie Nielsen is not funny.”
Apparently some people think Leslie Nielsen isn’t funny.
That’s from the Canadian magazine Macleans. I’m quoted a bunch more, too, about how not-funny Leslie Nielsen is.
And don’t call me Shirley.
(Technorati tags: Leslie Nielsen, comedy, critics)
He did good work early on; Police Squad, the first Naked Gun movie, and Airplane!. But after that, a whole lot of nothing.