If there’s one thing in the world of movies I hate, it’s Jerry Bruckheimer. I hate the guy. He represents everything going wrong in Hollywood. When you read a book that pictures Hollywood as beautiful people, sex and bad movies, THIS IS THE GUY WHO WROTE IT. His career began in the early 70’s (with movies no one has ever seen) and shows no sign of letting up. He also produced Top Gun, but since back then he wasn’t the crap peddler he is now, no one took notice. These days, however, everyone knows that Top Gun is cheesy patriotic crap, much like Pearl Harbor. So when a movie makes fun of Top Gun, it makes fun of the patriotic values behind the immense mound of crap that is Jerry Bruckheimer’s brain.

Topper Harley’s father was one of the greatest pilots ever. However, it is a widespread story that the selfish father decided not to help his friend, who plunged into a forest and was the victim of a tragic hunting accident. Topper tried his hand at plane-flying, but decided to retreat in a teepee with an old Indian guy. He is called to come back to the Army to fight some kind of war (I’m not begin a bad writer, that’s all the information they give us). He gets into a romance, a feud and other cheesy 80’s type plot twists.

Roger Ebert wrote in his review of Scary Movie that the hardest genre to write about is the spoof genre, and for once I have to whole-heartedly agree. There is nothing truly noteworthy about Hot Shots. The characters, music and script are only an excuse for a barrage of jokes. I can’t really tell about these jokes, either, because they are the essence of the movie.

Hot Shots! comes the mind of ZAZ, or Zucker, Abrahms and Zucker, who are also responsible for bringing Leslie Nielsen to fame and making the spoof genre fashionable. Compared to those movies, however, Hot Shots is severely lacking. The jokes are consistently funny, yes, but if you haven’t seen Top Gun, it’ll mean zilch to you. The parodies of other movies are mostly in one small scene, or in conversation. Some scenes (for example, the Rocky parody) also seem to come out of nowhere, simply because they need to poke fun at something. The movie is highly uneven when it comes to its development.

Charlie Sheen was obviously chosen because he looks a little like Tom Cruise. I do mean a little. This movie was done in Sheen’s “hookers, drugs and hookers” period, and it shows. Sheen only made the movie to buy some more sex and smack, because he looks very distant. He seems to have this “when is this ending and how much money will I get?” look. Cary Elwes (Shadow of the Vampire) plays the requisite bad guy as blandly as possible. Lloyd Bridges is really the only talented person in the cast . He plays a foul-mouthed confused Army general, and he has all of the best scenes. (Also watch for The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Ryan Stiles in a small role.)

Re-reading my review, I’ve been pretty harsh with the movie. I’m treating it as if it were Welles. In the end, Hot Shots! is not exactly a great movie, and there certainly are better spoofs that you should watch before this one. However, I do recommend it for a evening of laid-back movie watching, or an evening of Jerry Bruckheimer bashing (in which case you better invite me).



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12