Hot Shots! (1991)

Parody of "Top Gun" in which a talented but unstable fighter pilot must overcome the ghosts of his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers.

Director:

Jim Abrahams

Writers:

Jim Abrahams, Pat Proft

Stars:

Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlie Sheen	...	Lt. Topper Harley / Rhett Butler / Superman
Cary Elwes	...	Lt. Kent Gregory
Valeria Golino	...	Ramada Thompson / Scarlett O'Hara / Lois Lane
Lloyd Bridges	...	Adm. Thomas 'Tug' Benson
Kevin Dunn	...	Lt. Cmdr. James Block
Jon Cryer	...	Jim 'Wash Out' Pfaffenbach
William O'Leary	...	Pete 'Dead Meat' Thompson
Kristy Swanson	...	Kowalski
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	...	Wilson
Bill Irwin	...	Buzz Harley
Heidi Swedberg	...	Mary Thompson
Bruce A. Young	...	'Red' Herring
Ryan Stiles	...	'Mailman' Farnham
Rino Thunder	...	Owatonna 'The Old One'
Mark Arnott	...	Rosener

Storyline

Topper Harley, a top gun fighter pilot, is recalled to serve on the SS Essess. Topper's mission is to destroy Saddam Hussein's nuclear plants. Unfortunately, Topper is psychologically imbalanced and is sure to crack under pressure.

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Plot Keywords:

native american | saddam hussein | drill instructor | blockbuster | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Unprecendented! Uncut! Under 10 dollars!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot Shots: An Important Movie!

Filming Locations:

300 S Hope St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$69,467,617 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the fake Indian language the English term "curve ball" translates to "Hershiser", a reference to Los Angeles Dodgers' ace pitcher Orel Hershiser.

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Goofs

Dead Meat says that Topper is AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave), the Navy does not use that term; it is an Army term. The Navy uses UA (Unauthorized Absence).

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Quotes

Kent Gregory: [to the crowd assembled on the flight deck cheering for their successful mission] Uh we're landing, do you wanna get out of the way?

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Crazy Credits

NOBBY BUNS 4 cups sifted flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup butter 3 eggs Cream butter until well softened and add to sugar and eggs.Mix quickly with flour.Drop mixture from a teaspoon and small jagged heaps onto a cookie sheet and bake in 375 to 400 degrees oven.

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Connections

Spoofs Superman II (1980)

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Soundtracks

"U CAN'T TOUCH THIS"
Written by M.C. Hammer, Rick James and Alonzo Miller
Performed by M.C. Hammer
Courtesy of Capitol Records
By Arrangement with Cema Special Markets

User Reviews

Very high hit to miss ratio makes it almost stand out with Airplane and Naked Gun as one of the funniest spoofs around

Haunted by feelings of guilt over the actions of his father Buzz and having been kicked out of the navy, Topper Harley has withdrawn from the navy to a life of solitude, quiet contemplation and helium. However when Lt Commander Block comes to him with an offer of a second chance, to take part in secret mission Sleepy Weasel, Topper takes it up and signs up for training and briefing with the other pilots. However with a difficult love interest and his old fears resurfacing, can Topper hold it together? Can the mission succeed? Can Admiral Benson get it together? Only time, will tell.

The spoof genre is one that appears easy to do but things like Scary Movie, Spaceballs and others all show that it is not as easy as it appears – it is not enough to simply ape films unless it is done cleverly and funnily as well. Hot Shots succeeds in this area by managing to make such fun out of serious films that it is hard not to laugh – in fact I watched Top Gun recently and found it impossible not to laugh as I remembered Hot Shots! Of course it is not just the fact that it spoofs movies but also that the dialogue is really, really funny – totally off the wall and takes you by surprise at times. A fine example of this is the dialogue given to Admiral Benson such as 'they ran out of material before they got to the knee so don't give me any sh*t'! This continues throughout the film and it rarely misses. Just like Top Gun the romance aspect isn't as funny as the other bits but even then it is still good. Some individual lines aren't as sharp as others but generally the film has enough great dialogue and funny movie spoofs (including quite a few Tom Cruise movies) to be consistently funny even after repeat viewings.

The cast is often important in this type of thing and those who have suffered the Wayans brothers mugging in their 'spoofs' will know exactly what I mean – people like Leslie Nielsen make it look easy but it really isn't. And that is why the cast here should be largely praised for their straight delivery that serves to make the material even better. Although not the star of the film, every scene he is in is stolen by Lloyd Bridges – so great in Airplane, he gets the best lines here and his character is hilarious. He is supported well by Sheen who proves really able in sending himself up and he has done well in other spoofs since then. The rest of the cast is made up of very familiar faces who all seem in tune with the material provided – Elwes is fun; Cryer and O'Leary embrace their one-note characters. Golino is a bit dry in her delivery and doesn't help her already weak part in the film. Minor roles for Swanson, Stiles, Dunn and others are also good value for differing reasons and there are a few good cameos in there as well.

Overall, as with all these things you need to be in the mood but the strength of the material and the high hit ratio makes it easy to enjoy this film. Much more fun that Top Gun and consistently funny with regular laugh-out-loud moments this is a great spoof that is only just short of the greats like Airplane and Naked Gun.