Hot Shots! (1991)

A parody of Top Gun (1986) 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:

1990s | fighter pilot | parody | fighter jet | native american | 

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Taglines:

Unprecendented! Uncut! Under 10 dollars!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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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

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

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

Valeria Golino claims the scene in which she catches an olive popped out of her bellybutton was accomplished without trick photography.

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Goofs

When Admiral Benson offers pudding to Block, one can cleary see in the top left corner a "hose" that ejects the "pudding" into Block's face.

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Quotes

Admiral Benson: [while standing on top of the aircraft carrier, his cap blew off and landed in the ocean] Holy Cow! My cap blew off! Swing her round. We'll pick it up.
Officer: But, sir, we're on the mission.
Admiral Benson: Good thinking. We'll pick it up on the way back. We gotta mark the spot, though. Put Robinowitz in a life raft. Have him row in circles until we return.
Officer: It could be days.
Admiral Benson: Then put some food in the life raft, for god's sake, man. Do I have to think of everything? We'll tape his favorite shows, he won't miss anything.

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Crazy Credits

TOPPING FOR BROWNIES 1/2 cup butter 3 squares butter chocolate,melted 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 1 or 2 teaspoons cinnamon(optional) 2 egg yolks,beaten Cream butter until light and lemon coloured. Gradually add sugar and egg yolks. Add chocolate.

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Connections

Referenced in The Angry Video Game Nerd: Ricky 1 Review (2008)

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Soundtracks

It's Not Unusual
Written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills
Performed by Tom Jones
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Products
A division of PolyGram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

The funniest film of 1991.

Jim Abrahams' first solo comedy effort Hot Shots! is a smash comedy that has many, many laughs and is as silly as anything Abrahams has done with his uoltra successful team of ZAZ (Zucker Abrahams and Zucker) which made Airplane, Top Secret, The Naked Gun and The Kentucky Friend Movie. Hot Shots deserves a place with them.

Charlie Sheen plays a top gun type of charater that is trying to go against his father's reputation and still be able to fly and fight and all. The movie however doesn't try and go with the plot, which is always good in these movies, and it succeeds in bringing silly, goofy laughs just by having Lloyd Bridges act totally and utterly hilariously insane, or in just having a pilot with moose antlers. Deadpan. A