A struggling rock band takes a final stand against the corporate giants. It seemed like a somewhat innocent plan; infiltrate KPPX [a Los Angeles radio station], get them to play your demo on the air, become famous. If only it were that simple. Along the way they end up with hostages, an entire SWAT team and a city rallying behind The Lone Rangers. It’s a rock and roll story with a few twists, a handful of stars and a somewhat unlikely group of heroes.

With a few big names fronting the show, when Airheads hit the theaters it didn’t make many waves. In fact, the seas were pretty much calm. Pulling in a whopping 5 million and change from the theater tally – it was a flop but no one had the balls to say it. The saving grace for the Airheads legacy came when the video release turned the sleeper into a true contender.

The Plot

The guys in the Lone Rangers can’t seem to get a break in the music world. Despite trying to smuggle in promotional tapes of their work and doing some shameless self-promotions, they are still playing the same dives and eating macaroni and cheese for dinner. Instead of plugging away they decide to take over the last rock station in the Los Angeles area – KPPX. Eventually the hostages become unlikely allies when the studio manager is found to be a rat in the nest. Ian, the rock guru radio host, turns up the volume for the bad boys realizing that he’s out of a job come midnight.

One thing stands in the way of their success – the demo track is accidentally ruined and the only other copy is miles away with Kayla. Unbeknownst to the band, Kayla pitched the tape in the midst of a temper tantrum. Not knowing the smelly situation of the only other demo tape, the police set out on a semi wild goose chase to locate Kayla and the tape. All the while, the band is trying their best to stay sane in the middle of madness. Once Kayla and the tape are located – everything should fall into place. But leave it to another temper tantrum courtesy of Chaz to ruin the machinery this time – rather than the tape itself.

Jimmy Wing [Judd Nelson] shows up at just the right moment with a sweet deal for the boys, but it isn’t until they ask him how he heard the music that they realize that he’s just trying to capitalize on their free publicity. Funny, he didn’t want to have anything to do with them before they hijacked the radio station. At the end of the day, the hostages are safe, the band is famous and everyone goes home – except the Lone Rangers.


The Stars

Chester Darvey a/k/a Chaz
Brendan Fraser
[The Scout, School Ties, Bedazzled]

With long hair and a Southern California attitude, Chazz is a reformed Dungeons and Dragon playing nerd. Having been tossed out of his domicile by his ever patient girlfriend Kayla [Amy Locane], he and the other Lone Rangers decide to grab the bull by its horns and make a name for themselves. Chaz is the ringleader in this unhostile takeover and eventually the pressure of the situation gets the better of him. Brendan really did a good job with this character but the on again / off again relationship with Kayla runs a little thin. One minute they are fighting, the next sucking face. Even so, Chaz makes for an unlikely hero in this film which makes it all the more comical.

Rex Hamilton
Steve Buscemi
[Fargo, Desperado, Pulp Fiction]

In his usual strange manner, Buscemi steal the show. His performance is like diving by a car accident – you don’t want to look but you do anyway. Rex is the enforcer – the man with a water gun to be reckoned with. He plays the middleman between the slightly slow Pip and the ever-hyper Chaz. While he rides the fence well, he has a very short fuse – which is lit several times by cheesy record promoter Jimmy Wing [Judd Nelson]. Buscemi is like a Hollywood icon – less than average looks coupled with an extremely varied track record of films. His character in this film is average, but it’s Buscemi’s own additions – such as mannerism and facial expressions – that makes this character go from a name on a page to a flesh and blood entity.

Pip Morgan [the pool boy]
Adam Sandler
[Big Daddy, Little Nicky, Bulletproof]

Slightly shy and a little slow, Pip is the love dog of the film. Some mystical, invisible force draws women to him like fish to water. School boy looks and a sheepish grin play right into line with Pip’s somewhat awkward presence. Not so strong and extremely silent, Pip is the first to discover that the police are on to the Lone Rangers presence at the radio station. He’s reluctant to take charge of the hostages, but does so at the prompting of Rex. Sandler had a cheesecake role in this film. The character was there – but didn’t really do much to make an impact on the film.

Mile
Michael McKean
[Jack, The Brady Bunch Movie, Coneheads]

Lacking a spine, Mile is a middle-aged guy with a clip on tail. Forgetting to inform the stations employees that the format is switching to something easier to tolerate, he becomes the only hostage that is bound and gagged – for his own protection. Milo soon becomes the most hated person – by both the Lone rangers as well as his fellow hostages, which proves to be both entertaining as well as a nice subtle twist in the plot. It basically justifies the actions of the radio station employees when they find out the undisclosed format change.



Honorable mentions go out to Chris Farley and Ernie Hudson who both play police officers looking to rectify the situation without any injuries. Farley had a very small part in the film, but used it to his own advantage. With his usual ‘larger than life’ presence, he takes a few pokes from groupies about his size and is one of the unsung hero’s that helps to locate the missing audiotape. Ernie Hudson has a small part as well, but carves out his own little niche in the film.

The Bottom Line

Airheads is a no brainer. You don’t need to delve into thick plots or bother with putting it on pause when you make a snack run. Even if you miss the first half of the film, you can easily catch up on the events. For me, Airheads was a fun film, so much so that I purchased the DVD version when I saw it on sale at – where else – Wal-Mart.

Make no mistake about it, Airheads is rather predictable. You kind of know that they will be famous, that they will get a record deal on their own terms and that Kayla and Chaz will get back together. There are certainly worse movies to waste 90 minutes on – but on the same token – there are much better out there. Fans of Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy and Encino Man would find this a funny and cute film.



Release Date: August 3, 1994
Rating: PG 13
[Language, mild violence]
Run Time 81 minutes
Director: Michael Lehmann
Distributed By: 20th Century Fox
UPC: DVD 024543-01954-1

As always, thanks for the read…

^V^ Freak ^V^




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older