“Hot Shots!” (1991) and “Hot Shots! Part Deux” (1993) were on heavy rotation in my house when I was a kid. I recently rewatched them for the first time in a long time, and found that 1) the entire scripts were stored in my brain, and 2) they are still hilarious.
Jam-packed with gags
Writers Jim Abrahams (who also directs) and Pat Proft continue their “blink once and you miss 17 gags” approach made famous by “Airplane!” and “Police Squad!”/“The Naked Gun.” With Charlie Sheen ably playing the Tom Cruise and Sly Stallone roles, they parody “Top Gun” and “Rambo” II and III.
Knowing what they’re making fun of adds a layer of humor for sure, but the overall gleeful stupidity (written and performed by smart people) makes the “Hot Shots!” films broadly accessible, as my younger self would attest.
“Hot Shots!” (1991) and “Hot Shots! Part Deux” (1993)
Director: Jim Abrahams
Writers: Jim Abrahams, Pat Proft
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges
Secret weapons
The first entry gives us comedy staples like Cary Elwes and Jon Cryer, but the secret weapons in both entries are Lloyd Bridges and Valeria Golino.
Bridges plays largely oblivious Navy Admiral Benson, who is quick to point out the body parts that have been replaced after war injuries. (“Help me with this, will ya? My eyes are ceramic.”) Hilariously (at the time, although now it’s sadly prescient), the hapless Benson rises to the presidency in the sequel.
Golino (“Escape from L.A.”) should’ve had a bigger English-language career. In addition to being easy on the eyes (the sequel acknowledges that she resembles Gabriela Sabatini), Golino’s comic timing is flawless as she plays Ramada, the love interest of Sheen’s Topper Harley.
A nod also goes to Richard Crenna simply for having the stones to play a parody of his own character, Colonel Trautman from the “Rambos.” In “Part Deux,” he essentially just plays Trautman again, which is the correct choice.
Slices of the early ’90s
The movies totally hold up while also reminding us of early Nineties pop culture. Miguel Ferrer’s Harbinger breaks the fourth wall and notes that war (like the NBA) is “fantastic!” In the same battle sequence, Topper blows away an Energizer Bunny stand-in.
These moments occur while “Part Deux” racks up enough kills (as an on-screen counter shows) to surpass Paul Verhoeven’s “RoboCop” and “Total Recall” as the “bloodiest movie ever.”
To nitpick, some things miss the mark. In the original, the gag about the father of Gregory (Elwes) being killed and eaten in a previous war doesn’t quite connect.
Benson fights Saddam Hussein (Jerry Haleva) with a lightsaber in the sequel, and “Star Wars” parodies were old hat even by 1993. (There’s also a continuity error here, as Saddam was blown up in part one.)
But the “Hot Shots!” films move fast and give us something to laugh at in every frame – often in both the foreground and background. The good gags far outweigh the bad.
If only because they don’t make ’em like this anymore, give the “Hot Shots!” pictures a shot again.
“Hot Shots!”: 4.5 stars
“Hot Shots! Part Deux”: 4 stars