View source for Loaded Weapon 1

{{short description|1993 parody comedy film directed by Gene Quintano}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Loaded Weapon 1 
| image          = Loaded Weapon 1 poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Gene Quintano]] 
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Suzanne Todd]]
* David Willis
}} 
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* Don Holley
* Gene Quintano
}}
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* Don Holley
* Tori Tellem
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Emilio Estevez]]
* [[Samuel L. Jackson]]
* [[Jon Lovitz]]
* [[Tim Curry]]
* [[Kathy Ireland]]
* [[William Shatner]]}}
| music          = [[Robert Folk]]
| cinematography = [[Peter Deming]]
| editing        = [[Christopher Greenbury]]
| studio         = [[3 Arts Entertainment]]<br />Goodman Rosen Productions
| distributor    = [[New Line Cinema]]
| released       = {{Film date|1993|02|05}}
| runtime        = 83 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 82:40--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/national-lampoons-loaded-weapon-1-1970-1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306023518/http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/national-lampoons-loaded-weapon-1-1970-1 | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 6, 2016 | title=''NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LOADED WEAPON 1'' (PG) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=February 23, 1993 | access-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $8.2 million<ref name="imdb">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107659/|title=Loaded Weapon 1|date=February 5, 1993|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> 
| gross          = $51 million<ref name=ww>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|page=1|date=January 3, 1994|title=Int'l top 100 earn $8 bil|last=Klady|first=Leonard}}</ref>
}}
'''''National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1''''' (also known simply as ''''' Loaded Weapon 1''''') is a 1993 American [[parody film]] directed and co-written by [[Gene Quintano]],<ref name="Loaded Weapon 1">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/84598/national-lampoons-loaded-weapon-1|title=Loaded Weapon 1|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=March 29, 2016}}</ref> and starring [[Emilio Estevez]], [[Samuel L. Jackson]], [[Kathy Ireland]], [[Frank McRae]], [[Tim Curry]] and [[William Shatner]]. The film mainly spoofs the first three [[Lethal Weapon (series)|''Lethal Weapon'' films]], as well as several others including ''[[Basic Instinct]], [[Commando (1985 film)|Commando]]'', ''[[Die Hard]]'', ''[[Dirty Harry]]'', ''[[Rambo (film series)|Rambo]]'', ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'', ''[[Wayne's World (film)|Wayne's World]]'', ''[[48 Hrs.]]'' and TV series such as ''[[CHiPs]]''. ''Loaded Weapon 1'' was released on February 5, 1993.

==Plot==
{{More plot|section|date=May 2015}}
In Los Angeles, Billie York is murdered by a man known as Mr Jigsaw because she possesses a microfilm containing a recipe that can turn cocaine into cookies. Her former partner, Wes Luger, who is about to retire, is assigned the case by the reluctant captain Doyle, who dismisses it as a suicide but gives Luger the case. The catch is that Luger will have to be partnered with Jack Colt, a burned out cop who recently lost his dog, Claire. The two visit Harold Leacher, who tells them that Colt's former general in the Vietnam War, Mortars, is heading the operation. Meanwhile, Jigsaw and Mortars visit Mike McCraken, whom Jigsaw murders for losing the microfilm.

After finding the body, Colt and Luger go to Rick Becker, who claims that he laundered money with York (the money actually being in the laundry machine), but Rick is shot multiple times by unknown assailants, forcing Colt and Luger to go to the Wilderness Girls factory. The head, Destiny Demeanor, claims no knowledge of the operation during questioning, but she is revealed to be working for Mortars and his gang. Colt meets Luger's family, but he runs away when they try to seduce him. Destiny and Colt hang out at Colt's house, while Mortars sends a helicopter to destroy Colt's house (a trailer that is actually a mansion inside), but they accidentally destroy [[John McClane]]'s house.

Due to lack of evidence, Doyle dismisses the case, but Colt still decides to stop the operation, much to the dismay of Luger. Luger is a by-the-book cop, after he took an unscheduled break from his crossing guard duties (as a child), which led to an old lady being run over by a car and killed. Colt breaks in and Destiny, now having fallen in love with Colt, attempts to stop Mortars, but Mortars shows that he was the one who kidnapped Claire, revealing Rick and Claire chained to a wall (Rick actually having survived the incident). Mortars shoots Destiny, who clings to life long enough to confess her feelings for Colt. Colt manages to catch up with Mortars, but then Luger shows up, having considered what Colt said to him earlier. He shoots and kills Mortars, and Colt kills Jigsaw, but starts a fire that destroys the whole factory. Doyle shows up, and asks Luger to stay in the force. Luger agrees, but as long as Colt is his partner. In the end, Destiny, having survived, shows up with Rick and Claire, and the team dances to "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]".

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Emilio Estevez]] as Sgt. Jack Colt, a parody of [[Martin Riggs]]
* [[Samuel L. Jackson]] as Sgt. Wes Luger, a parody of [[Roger Murtaugh]]
* [[Kathy Ireland]] as Miss Destiny Demeanor, a composite parody of [[Lethal Weapon 2|Rika Van Den Haas]] and [[Catherine Tramell]]
**[[Allyce Beasley]] as Miss Destiny Demeanor, before she lets her hair down and takes off her glasses
* [[Frank McRae]] as Captain Doyle
* [[Tim Curry]] as Mr. Jigsaw, a parody mainly of [[Lethal Weapon|Mr. Joshua]]
* [[William Shatner]] as General Curtis Mortars, a parody of [[Lethal Weapon|General McAllister]]
* [[Jon Lovitz]] as Rick Becker, a parody of [[Lethal Weapon 2|Leo Getz]]
* [[Lance Kinsey]] as Irv
* [[Denis Leary]] as Mike McCracken
* [[F. Murray Abraham]] as Dr. Harold Leacher, a parody of [[Hannibal Lecter]]
* [[Danielle Nicolet]] as Debbie Luger
* [[Beverly Johnson]] as Doris Luger
* [[Ken Ober]] as Dooley
* [[Vito Scotti]] as Tailor
* [[Bill Nunn]] as Police photographer
* [[Lin Shaye]] as Witness
}}

===Cameos===
{{Cast listing|
* [[James Doohan]] as [[Scotty (Star Trek)|Scotty]]
* [[Erik Estrada]] as himself, parodying his role Francis Poncherello from ''[[CHiPs]]''
* [[Larry Wilcox]] as himself, parodying his role Jon Baker from ''[[CHiPs]]''
* [[Corey Feldman]] as young cop
* [[Whoopi Goldberg]] (''uncredited'') as Billie York<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE0DF1E31F936A35751C0A965958260| title=''National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1'' (1993): Review/Film; Whatever Is Loaded, Laugh at It| newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |author-link=Vincent Canby|first=Vincent|last= Canby| date=February 5, 1993|access-date=March 8, 2016| quote=Whoopi Goldberg makes an unbilled appearance as Mr. Estevez's former partner, her life snuffed out too early...}}</ref>
* [[Paul Gleason]] as FBI agent
* [[Phil Hartman]] as Officer Davis
* [[Richard Moll]] as Prison attendant
* [[J. T. Walsh]] as Desk Clerk
* [[Rick Ducommun]] as D.A. #1
* [[Bruce Mahler]] (''uncredited'') as D.A. #2
* [[Robert Shaye]] (''uncredited'') as Interrogation Room Person
* [[Charles Napier (actor)|Charles Napier]] and [[Charles Cyphers]] as Interrogators
* [[Bruce Willis]] (''uncredited'') as [[John McClane]]
* [[Denise Richards]] as Cindy
* [[Joyce Brothers]] as Medical Examiner
* [[Christopher Lambert]] (''deleted scene'') as Man with car-phone
* [[Charlie Sheen]] as Gern, Parking valet
}}

==Release==
===Box office===
''Loaded Weapon 1'' opened at number 1 at the US box office and grossed almost $28 million in the United States and Canada in total.<ref>{{cite news|title= Weekend Box Office Here Come the First Hits of 1993|work= [[The Los Angeles Times]]|date=1993-02-09|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-09-ca-1220-story.html|access-date=2010-12-25|first=David J.|last=Fox}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Movies|work= [[The Los Angeles Times]]|date=1993-02-15|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-15-ca-74-story.html|access-date=2010-12-25|first=Beth|last=Kleid}}</ref><ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=loadedweapon1.htm | title=Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]] | access-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref> Internationally, it grossed $23.2 million for a worldwide total of $51.2 million.<ref name=ww/> The movie, along with ''[[Excessive Force (film)|Excessive Force]]'' and ''[[Three of Hearts (1993 film)|Three of Hearts]]'', was cited for its contribution to New Line's record pre-sales in 1992 totaling $91.2 million.<ref>Buoyed by pre-sales of such upcoming films as their ''National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1'', ''Excessive Force'', and ''Three of Hearts'', New Line Intl. will finish out 1992 with firm sales of $91.2&nbsp;million.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Critical reception===
The film received mostly negative reviews. [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the film a C, comparing it negatively to the [[Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker]] films, while also noting that "the ''Lethal Weapon'' films, with their hyperbolic explosiveness, lurid repartee, and quasi-loco [[Mel Gibson]] hero, are already winking at the audience. (Last year's spoofy, ragtag ''[[Lethal Weapon 3]]'' practically turned its own slovenliness into a running gag.) The only way to make light of them is to exaggerate the cartoon funkiness that's already at the center of their appeal. It's no wonder this Weapon ends up shooting blanks."<ref>{{cite news|title= Loaded Weapon |publisher= [[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=1993-02-12|url= https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,305526,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081202093938/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,305526,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= December 2, 2008|access-date=2010-12-05|first=Owen|last=Gleiberman}}</ref> Lawrence Cohn of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' opened his review by saying "More an imitation than a parody, this would-be comedy is very short on laughs."<ref>{{cite news|title=Loaded Weapon |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=1992-12-31|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793428?refcatid=31|access-date=2010-12-05|first=Lawrence|last=Cohn}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' said the film's main failure was that the ''Lethal Weapon'' movies already contained sly spoofs of the police film genre: "The send-up doesn't feel much different than the real thing".<ref>{{cite news|title=Loaded Weapon |publisher=[[Chicago Sun Times]]|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/national-lampoons-loaded-weapon-1-1993|access-date=2010-12-05|first=Roger|last=Ebert}}</ref>

Clifford Terry had a more mixed review of the film; in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' he remarked that "the salt-and-pepper protagonists are no-nonsense, rapid-firing cops down to their very names: Colt and Luger. Obviously, ''National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I'' is designed as a sendup of the ''Lethal Weapon'' movies, but the benchmarks are really ''[[Police Academy (film)|Police Academy]]'' and ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!|The Naked Gun]]''. Once again, criminal activity is the game but sophomoric silliness and tastelessness call the shots."<ref>{{cite news|title= 'Loaded Weapon' Takes Its Shots But Then Misfires |publisher= [[Chicago Tribune]]|date=1993-02-05|url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/02/05/loaded-weapon-takes-its-shots-but-then-misfires/|access-date=2010-12-05|first=Clifford|last=Terry}}</ref>

''Loaded Weapon 1'' has a 21% score on the film-critic aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 34 reviews with the consensus: "''Loaded Weapon 1'' hits all the routine targets with soft squibs, yielding a tired parody that cycles through its laundry list of references with little comedic verve".<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|national_lampoons_loaded_weapon_1|Loaded Weapon 1}} Retrieved August 3, 2015</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0107659}}
* {{mojo title|loadedweapon1}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|national_lampoons_loaded_weapon_1}}

{{National Lampoon}}
{{Gene Quintano}}
{{Lethal Weapon}}
{{Die Hard}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loaded Weapon 1}}
[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 action comedy films]]
[[Category:1993 crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s parody films]]
[[Category:American action comedy films]]
[[Category:American buddy cop films]]
[[Category:American police detective films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American parody films]]
[[Category:American buddy comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language action comedy films]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:National Lampoon films]]
[[Category:New Line Cinema films]]
[[Category:1990s police comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s buddy cop films]]
[[Category:3 Arts Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Robert Folk]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Gene Quintano]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gene Quintano]]
[[Category:Films produced by Suzanne Todd]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language buddy comedy films]]