Wrongfully Accused (1998)

Leslie Nielsen returns with another hilarious spoof, this time starring as violinist Ryan Harrison, who is framed for murdering Hibbing Goodhue. He needs to find a mysterious one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged man to get to the truth of the crime, all the while trying to hide from the pursuing authorities.

As with any Nielson spoofs, there are non-stop gags from start to finish that will have you horse-laughing. Slapstick humor is abundance here, but did get a little old in a plot where the momentum didn't flow as quick as Nielsen's earlier spoof movies like the Naked Gun films. However, the slapstick humor is done tastefully in a way that is doesn't get borderline annoying (i.e., forced comedy).

The characters are calm and serious as always in their demeanor, especially Nielson, spoofing his "The Fugitive" character well. Stars Wars, Titanic, Back to the Future and Anaconda are among the many movies hilariously spoofed - all giving us another entertaining and laughable comedy.

Grade B-

Fmovies: A late entry in Leslie Nielsen's career-rebooting series of movie parodies, 1998's "Wrongfully Accused" treads familiar territory. However, the film will likely be catnip to fans of "Airplane," "Naked Gun," and "Police Squad." Written, produced, and directed by Pat Proft, a veteran writer on the "Police Squad" TV series and the "Naked Gun" movie trilogy, the movie is an endless string of hit-or-miss sight gags, bad puns, and slapstick. While showing his age, the 72-year-old Nielsen manages to keep up with the frantic pace. Proft's first and only directorial effort is a take-off on Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive," and Nielsen plays Ryan Harrison, a moniker among numerous obvious references, who is a music virtuoso also known as Lord of the Violin. Nielsen is passingly involved with the wife of Hibbing Goodhue, played by Michael York, and, when York is murdered, Nielsen is convicted of the crime, jailed, and sentenced to death. The set pieces imitate the original film with a train-bus wreck in which Nielsen escapes, a pursuit in the sewers, and a daring jump into a raging river. On the run, Nielsen seeks to prove his innocence by finding a one-armed, one-legged, one-eyed man, all the while pursued by Richard Crenna, a garrulus cop named Lieutenant Fergus Falls.

For movie buffs, the references to old movies are enough to make the film entertaining; from extended scenes that mimic "The Usual Suspects," "Mission Impossible," "Titanic," and "North by Northwest," to passing references to "The Empire Strikes Back," "Field of Dreams," and "Braveheart," to dialog lifted from "Casablanca," Proft's movie is great fun. Viewers are advised to sit through the wacky end credits, which like those of earlier Nielsen spoofs, include a number of genuinely funny attributions. Unfortunately, unlike other Nielsen spoofs, the cast is light on star cameos, and only York and Sandra Bernhardt are well known among the cast. While Melinda McGraw plays Nielsen's sidekick and love interest, she fails to make a strong impression, and the more than 35-year age difference between Nielsen and McGraw is borderline icky. However, the May-December attraction is a small quibble. The audience for "Wrongfully Accused" knows what they paid for, and the film generally delivers. However, those who hated "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" are warned to stay clear.

Wrongfully Accused is very funny in spots, but doesn't Leslie Nielsen and Pat Proft, the director, remember that spoofs are much funnier when played seriously. The actors in this film seem to be acting like they're in a spoof. Not one of the best of Nielsen's performances, but still worth a look.

Wrongfully Accused fmovies. You do not go to see a Nielsen movie expecting anything else but a good laugh. You know that you will see a parody, based on one film, and a lot of references to other famous movies. The humor itself may get what they call rather low, but occasionally you will have a good laugh, and even some gags to remember. No social comments, no pretentions. This is exactly what this film is - an average level parody, with one memorable scene, and a few good other. Go in the right mood, do not expect too much, and you may enjoy it. 6/10 on my personal scale.

Oh, what a sheer delight! If I had to choose one of the most hilarious, and one of the funniest films ever made, I'd choose this one. What a great entertainment, what a clever fun, mighty pun and a merciless satire on those films that it mocks at! Mr. Nielsen is as usual at his best. His impossibly funny face, his over the place, exaggerated gestures and intonations are merciless stabs and jeers at all those "hot actors", who really need to be shaken a bit. The plot is based on several films, and it interweaves all the plot lines so impeccably easily that you have to check every time what film it makes a parody on. The main idea is pretty simple - a famous violinist, Ryan Harrison is wrongly accused of murder he did not commit, so he has to become a run-away. He is chased by an incredibly silly police, and he has to overcome so many hardships - the wild wood, train chase, computer problems, shootout. The clever stabs on Mission Impossible, BraveHeart, as well as Stephen King's Corn fields are just brilliant. You cannot change your breath, so hard your laugh is. The main hero finally finds one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged Irish terrorist, Sean McGhrea, and the revenge is sweet, but you really must see that final scene on Titanic board, when the lovely romantic couple is cruelly hit by a low-hanging bridge. Impossibly funny, really smart, clever, merry and very bold. Excellent film.

There has been a murder in town and the violin player superstar is the main suspect.He is wrongfully accused, of course.He gets a death sentence but he manages to escape.So then he is an innicent violin player chased by the cops.All he knows is that the real murderer is a one-armed, one-legged and one-eyed man. Shouldn't be so hard to find.Easier said than done.Wrongfully Accused is a comedy, that has parodies from many other movies and some series.Mostly from The Fugitive.There are also parodies from movies like Braveheart and Titanic.Leslie Nielsen is perfect for the movie.He knows the genre very well.He is a parody man.Great comedian.Great comedy.