Main Cast: Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Cary Elwes, Lloyd Bridges, Kevin Dunn
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 83 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
From director Jim Abrahams, one of the minds behind the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, comes another parody. This time around, Abrahams has his sights set on the action-adventure genre, specifically Top Gun. Charlie Sheen stars as Topper Harley, a maverick air force pilot who constantly lives in the shadow of his father's legacy. Unable to handle the pressure, Harley has left the Air Force to live among a tribe of Native Americans. But when the United States seeks to destroy some Iraqi nuclear facilities, there's only one man for the job. After being coaxed back into service, Harley soon realizes that in addition to Saddam Hussein, he'll have to contend with a rival pilot, played by Cary Elwes, and a devious aerospace executive. Among the many films lampooned are Dances With Wolves, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Gone With the Wind. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
Just as Airplane! made it impossible to take Airport and other disaster movies seriously, Hot Shots! will forever alter the way you view Top Gun. It's another successful parody from director Jim Abrahams, who gets in enough jokes and gags for a week-long festival of standard comedy films. It feels like a speedy derivative of The Marx Brothers at their most ludicrous, or Mad Magazine in motion pictures, and Mel Brooks' movie burlesques (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety) are certainly close cousins. Abrahams' movies have a consistent style, and they create a surreal atmosphere in which anything might happen. The Hollywood in-jokes are a big part of the laughs, but the set-ups are so fantastic yet familiar that they come off like live-action comics. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Jon Cryer - Jim "Washout" Pfaffenbach; Kristy Swanson - Kowalski; William O'Leary - Pete "Dead Meat" Thompson; Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. - Wilson; Nancy Abrahams - Family in front of TV Store; Mark Arnott - Rosener; John Bankson - Parking Valet; Charles Barkley - Himself; Gary Brayboy - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Jeff Bright - Communications Officer; Al Clegg - Jazz; Willie Collins - Liberace; Kelly Connell - Air Controller; Chris Coyle - Conspiratorial Crewman; Cylk Cozart - 1st Drill Sergeant; Ryan Cutrona - Captain Margolis; Kevin Eads - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Richard Emanuel - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Ryan Fitzgerald - Scooter; Brent Freeman - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Valeria Golino - Scarlett O'Hara; Eugene Greytak - Pope John Paul II; Jerry Haleva - Saddam Hussein; Ed Herschlar - Rabbi; Max Jones - Boxer #2; Judy Kahan - Nurse; Christopher Keene - 2nd Drill Sergeant; Bill Laimbeer - Himself; Don Lake - Doctor; Richard Lasting - Handsome Milkman; Jimmy Lennon, Jr. - Ring Announcer; Bob Lenz - Elvis "The King" Presley; Tony Lorea - Humphrey "Bogie" Bogart; Don Luce - Paramedic; Craig McIntosh - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Tony Moreno - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Annie O'Donnell - Amish Woman; Kip Pierce - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Pablo Prietto - Parking Valet; Robert Puro - Precocious Paper Boy; Elston Ridgle - Boxer #1; Charlie Sheen - Superman; Tony Simotes - Ambulance Driver; Ryan Stiles - "Mailman" Farnham; Heidi Swedberg - Mrs. "Dead Meat" Thompson; Marie Thomas - Francine the Secretary; Rino Thunder - Owatonna; Jimmie Ray Weeks - Amish Man; Sean Wright - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member; Mack Yamaguchi - Eskimo; Bruce A. Young - "Red" Herring; Mali Finn; Pat Proft - Lawrence Lipps; Marc Shaiman - Piano Player; William Irwin - Buzz Harley; Dave (The Shark) Oliver - Sleepy Weasel Squadron Member
Credit
Greg Papalia - Art Director, Janet Graham - Associate Producer, Stephen McEveety - Associate Producer, Greg Norberg - Associate Producer, Mali Finn - Casting, Lester Wilson - Choreography, Mary Malin - Costume Designer, Jim Abrahams - Director, Jane Kurson - Editor, Eric Sears - Editor, Pat Proft - Executive Producer, Sylvester Levay - Composer (Music Score), Ann Masterson - Makeup, William Elliott - Production Designer, Stephen McEveety - Production Designer, Bill Butler - Cinematographer, William Badalato - Producer, Jerie Kelter - Set Designer, Ernie F. Orsatti - Stunts, Jim Abrahams - Screenwriter, Pat Proft - Screenwriter
Hot Shots has been described as "Top Gun meets Airplane!". The film begins at Flemner Air Base 20 years prior. A pilot named Leland "Buzz" Harley (Bill Irwin) loses control of his plane and ejects, leaving his co-pilot Dominic "Mailman" Farnum (Ryan Stiles) to crash alone; although Mailman survives, he's mistaken for a deer owing to the branches stuck to his helmet and is shot by a hunter. Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) wakes up from a nightmare he's having about the event when Lt. Commander Block (Kevin Dunn) asks him to return to active duty as a pilot in the U.S. Navy. This poses a dilemma for Harley, as he previously left the Navy to live with Native Americans.
Harley becomes romantically involved with his therapist, Ramada (Valeria Golino), although she's already involved with another fighter pilot (Cary Elwes), who hates Topper because of the loss of his father to Buzz Harley (and believes Topper may do the same to him). Amid the chaos, the owner of an aerospace firm is trying to sabotage the mission in order to make the current fighter jets look bad in hopes that the Navy will replace them with his German-made jets. However, Topper Harley successfully completes the mission to destroy a nuclear power plant despite his jet's malfunctioning armament.
Hot Shots was both a critical and commercial success, grossing over $180 million worldwide[1] and tallying 81% positive reviews on review-collection website Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
Sequel
In 1993, a sequel was released, Hot Shots! Part Deux, which parodied the action genre, primarily the Rambo films. Jim Abrahams returned as director, as did actors Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino and Lloyd Bridges (all reprising their roles from the first film) except Jon Cryer, as well as Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein, who had a larger role in the sequel. Ryan Stiles returns in a new role. The film also starred Richard Crenna, Rowan Atkinson and Miguel Ferrer. Although not as well-received as Hot Shots!, reviews for the sequel were still generally favorable.[3]Part Deux became a financial success at the box office, grossing over $130 million worldwide.[4]
Airplanes
The planes that make an appearance in the movie are:
