Can you say DOUBLE FEATURE?!?!
Today I bring y'all what I like to
think of as Charlie Sheen's best, and one of my favourite comedies.
Hot Shots is a slapstick parody of Top Gun with Charlie Sheen playing
Charlie Sheen, I mean Topper Harley. Topper is a crack fighter pilot,
yet mentally unstable who has to save the day on a sabotaged mission.
This is definitely a film worth watching more than once as there are
so many sight gags that you will probably miss a few the first time
around. Hot Shots knows its a comedy and does nothing to try to
convince anyone otherwise. Many scenes are shot for maximum comedic
effect with the viewers laughbox in mind, often going over the top to
create an almost childish sense of humour. The fourth wall is broken
multiple times, the props are blatantly fake and the characters
written to exaggerate these 'flaws'. These flaws however are what
drives the movie. It knows there is very little seriousness and makes
no effort to create such a glamer. Anyone who knows me knows that
something as simple as a fart noise will get me giggling like a
schoolgirl, and this film plays on that majorly. The jokes and
one-liners are so simple that you don't need to understand the whole
film to find them funny, like some of the more recent flicks out
there. I could quite happily have this on in the background, drifting
in and out and still be laughing every time I tuned back in. Playing
out like a Tim Vine stand-up routine has it's benefits at times.
Looking at the cast, there are a few names that you might or might
not have expected to see. First off is Jon Cryer who you should
recognise as Charlie's brother Alan in his 'hit' sitcom, Two and a
Half Men. Cryer plays his role as Wash Out, Topper's flight buddy
extremely well here, creating an emotional bond with the audience
that lets the character seem real. Cary Elwes takes a break from
being the Dread Pirate Roberts of The Princess Bride fame to
become Topper's rival, Kent. Lloyd
Bridges appears as the dopey but somehow still in position Admiral
Benson, a role that is strangely similar to George Gaynes' Commandant
Lassard from the Police Academy series, a character that is brilliant
for many reasons unknown to me. We also see Ryan Stiles in his big
screen debut as pilot 'Mailman' Farnham. The show stealer, however
was most definitely Valeria Golino as Ramada Thompson, Topper's love
interest. Even though I have said the film makes no qualms about its
seriousness, Golino just makes her scenes 'real'. It's all in the
little movements, a dip of the head, the slight shift in posture,
they all provide a realism that breaks away from the fabricated world
without disrupting it.
In
Part Deux, Sheen
returns as Harley who has been living in a monastery since the
original ended, and is returned to service to lead a rescue team to
Iraq to rescue hostages from Desert Storm and defeat Saddam Hussein.
There is no flying fighter jets this time, so instead Rambo gets the
parody treatment. Only a handful of the main cast from the first film
return (Topper, Admiral Benson, Ramada) but they are joined by Ryan
Stiles again, this time taking the name of commando Rabinowitz; and
Rowan Atkinson, playing Rowan Atkinson, er... I mean Ramada's
husband, Dexter. A surprisingly good performance from Jerry Haleva as
a camp Saddam Hussein rounds out a great sequel.
Both
movies are definitely worth an evening in for, as they are
brilliantly simple and that simplicity is the key to making them
watchable. I wholly enjoyed the childish humour, bad jokes, breaking
the fourth wall and numerous sight gags and am tempted to spend the
next week watching the Police Academy series as it reminded me how
well comedy can be written. - 4 packs of Tiger Blood out of 5
