Hot Shots!

Hot Shots, starring Charlie Sheen is a spoof film that kind of addresses the macho-military man stereotype. I consider it to be one of the funniest spoofs I have ever seen.

Before the review let's get into the premise

Topper played by Charlie Sheen is a young and very much stereotyped Navy Fighter Jet Pilot. Haunted by the Ghost of his late father, and his freak-accident crash that got his friend killed, Topper is an ambitious pilot that has his sights set on one thing...becoming the best pilot the Navy has ever seen. After getting kicked out of the Navy for being too much of a high risk asset, Topper seeks refuge with a Native American tribe until he gets recruited by Lt Block, an old friend. LT block needs Topper and his flying prowess in order for the mission to succeed. Will Topper finally overcome the Ghost of his father and become the best pilot the Navy has ever seen?

This movie is funny. But there is a prerequisite for it. If you haven't seen Top Gun, then this movie is not going to be that funny. Honestly. The reason spoofs are so funny in the first place is because they are poking fun at plot holes, stereotypes and really just giving some normalcy to the dramatization that is a little over the top in another context. If you really want the jokes to land as hard as possible, consider doing a double feature with Top Gun followed by Hot Shots.

Now the biggest downfall for spoofs is honestly the casting. There just really isn't a big budget for spoofs and because of that the delivery of the comedy and satire suffers due to the actors not being adequate enough to deliver the lines and actions in a convincing way. Charlie Sheen really carries this movie and sets the tone. The Director, Jim Abrahams, who also directed "Airplane!" did an amazing job at keeping everybody on the same page. Every line and joke felt so fluid and this spoof film didn't feel like a bunch of SNL sketches that were edited together.

I think Hot Shots is definitely for you if you have watched and enjoyed other movies such as "Airplane" "Airplane 2" and the Naked Gun series. Hot Shots! Is definitely one of those movies I have to watch just because it's such a fun and lighthearted movie that really brings some laughs into the home.

I'm not sure why, but I guess I was interested in seeing the first Hot Shots since my mom only has the sequel and I noticed the movie in Blockbuster, I also love Charlie Sheen in comedies, he works so well in spoofs. Not to mention all in all, I do love spoofs, most work for me. It's just the kind comedy that I like. Hot Shots! proved itself to be a worthy spoof that is more than worth watching. It spoofs Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman, 9 1/2 Weeks, Gone with the Wind, Rocky, among many other movies.

Topper is a pilot who is wanted back in the navy and falls for a woman, but he has an edge is considered a rebel. Cary Elwes gives him a hard time constantly, especially since his father caused Cary's father to have a freak plane accident. Cary is also in love with Topper's woman and wants revenge.

Hot Shots is a great comedy that I have to admit is a guilty pleasure, but it has so much that most comedies lack now a days. It's just a fun innocent movie that deserves a little bit of a higher rating. Charlie Sheen rocks in comedies, although they have destroyed my new favorite guilty pleasure, 9 1/2 Weeks, it's all good.

7/10

Really funny movie spoofs Top Gun, Dances With Wolves and others. In the centre is Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen), who is incapable of flying because he thinks his dad is responsible for the death of his co-pilot.

But one day he is called back into the squad, as there is a scheme going on about some new airplanes. Oh well, never mind that.

Funny stuff all the time, too much to talk about really. I love the 'Dead Meat' character, when he is taking his last flight, claiming he knows the answers to global warmth and Kennedy's assasination. That really cracked me up.

One of the best spoofs ever. 7/10.

If you are going to watch "Top Gun", please watch that film first before this one. It will make this film much funnier plus, Top Gun has not aged well and will seem cheesier than normal if you watch it last.

This is the Abrahams & Abrahams style ("Airplane", "Naked Gun") parody of the 1986 Reagan era military action film, Top Gun. It is hilarious and nothing is sacred. It is probably one of the ten funniest films I have ever seen, but nothing is ever going to top Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles. I'll just say, don't think that if you find this film in the middle of the night and say "this will be a good oldie to fall asleep to" that you will do any such thing. I made that mistake.

Charlie Sheen plays the troubled pilot Topper Harley that is the equivalent of Tom Cruise's character in Top Gun. Cary Elwes is his rival. In this film Topper Harley's love interest is his therapist, Ramada (Valeria Golino), instead of a physicist and Top Gun instructor. Because then they'd have to inject some science into this film and it would ruin everything.

The jokes are just non stop. Sight gags are everywhere. There is a welcome home banner that actually says "Welcome Home Banner". And there is a send up of the food scene in "9 1/2 Weeks" (1986) that will have you never looking at olives quite the same. And Lloyd Bridges does a hilarious rendition of a clueless and completely incompetent Admiral, with one particularly great line to the villains of the film - "You risked the lives of some damn fine pilots... and that's *my* job!"

Notice that Jon Cryer costars in this film 12 years before he and Sheen starred in the TV series "2 1/2 Men". Is there a story there? Maybe.

At any rates laughs are hard to come by these days. For absolutely stress free film watching that is wall to wall laughs with no chance of an Oscar worthy moment, this film still fits the bill.

I should have rewatched Top Gun before seeing this ... I did hold back on that to make it a "double feature" when the second Top Gun movie finally gets its theatrical release .. you know when Cinemas reopen and all that. You can still see that it spoofs that Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer (gay?) bromance . Now don't get overexcited or offended - the undertones are there and they get spoofed here. If you are easily offended maybe do not watch this movie. Though you'd be missing out on many good jokes - from one third of the Zaz team ... he knows his stuff for sure! And the cast is amazing too.

Bridges is on a roll here, as is Sheen and the others. The erotic scene of the movie is exactly that by the way ... hot and steamy, but also super funny. I sort of miss those cool spoof movies ... you could tell they loved movies and didn't just make fun of anything they saw ... there was much love ... and ridiculous insanity included.