''Hot Shots!'' is a 1991 American
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Jim Abrahams, co-writer and co-director of ''
Airplane!
''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...
'', and written by Abrahams and
Pat Proft. It stars
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...
,
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor. He starred as Westley in ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) and the Saw (fr ...
,
Valeria Golino,
Lloyd Bridges,
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...
,
Kevin Dunn,
Kristy Swanson,
Bill Irwin, and
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. The film is primarily a
parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of ''
Top Gun
''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...
'', with some scenes spoofing other popular films, including ''
9½ Weeks'', ''
The Fabulous Baker Boys'', ''
Dances with Wolves'', ''
Marathon Man'', ''
Rocky
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...
'', ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'', and ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind ...
''. A sequel, ''
Hot Shots! Part Deux'', was released in 1993, with Sheen, Golino, Bridges and
Jerry Haleva reprising their roles.
Plot
The film begins at Flemner Air Base 20 years in the past. A pilot named Leland "Buzz" Harley loses control of his plane and ejects, leaving his co-pilot Dominic "Mailman" Farnham to crash. Although Mailman survives, he is mistaken for a deer owing to the branches stuck to his helmet and is shot by a hunter.
Topper Harley wakes up from a
nightmare he is having about the event when Lt. Commander Block asks him to return to active duty as a pilot in the
U.S. Navy, to help on a new top secret mission: Operation Sleepy Weasel, commanded by the senile and accident-prone
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Benson. Harley experiences intense
psychological problems, especially when his father is mentioned. His
therapist, Ramada, tries to stop Topper from flying, but she relents, and also starts to fall in love with him. Meanwhile, Topper gets into a feud with another fighter pilot, Kent Gregory, Mailman's son and a former boyfriend of Ramada, who blames Buzz Harley for his father's death and believes Topper is dangerous.
Block starts privately meeting with an airplane tycoon, Mr. Wilson, who has recently built a new "Super Fighter" that will make the American pilots superior. Block reveals that he brought back Topper for the reason of making Sleepy Weasel fail. Block would then report that it was the Navy's planes that were the real reason for the mission failure and that they need to be replaced with Wilson's planes. During one of the last training missions, an accident between Pete "Dead Meat" Thompson and Jim "Wash Out" Pfaffenbach leaves Dead Meat killed and Wash Out demoted to radar operator. Block believes this is enough to convince the Navy to buy new fighters, but Wilson calls it a "minor incident", saying the planes need to fail in combat.
Topper develops a strong emotional attachment to Ramada, but she is haunted by her past with Gregory. On the
carrier S.S. ''Essess'', Benson reveals the mission to be an attack of an
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i
nuclear plant and Block assigns Topper to lead the mission, much to Gregory's protest. Wilson, who is also on board, instructs a crew member to sabotage the planes, putting the pilots' lives at risk. In the midst of the mission, Block mentions Buzz Harley to Topper, who has a
panic attack
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...
and is unable to lead. Block just starts to call out for the mission to be aborted when Iraqi fighters attack the squadron. All the planes' weapons fail, and Block, realizing what has happened, tells Topper that he saw what really happened with Buzz and Mailman: That Buzz tried to do everything possible to save Mailman, but ended up falling out of the plane, failing in his attempts.
With his self-confidence restored, Topper single-handedly beats the Iraqi fighters and bombs the nuclear plant, dropping a bomb directly on
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
. Back aboard the ship, Wilson's plan is revealed, and his standing with the military is lost. Back in port, Gregory hails Topper as a great pilot and gives his blessing to Ramada to be with Topper. The end credits show Dead Meat and Mailman in
spirit with Dead Meat saluting and Mailman giving a thumbs up with
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
(who was mentioned earlier in the film).
Cast
*
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...
as Lieutenant Sean "Topper" Harley
*
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor. He starred as Westley in ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) and the Saw (fr ...
as Lieutenant Kent "Pirate" Gregory
*
Valeria Golino as Ramada Thompson
*
Lloyd Bridges as Rear Admiral Thomas "Tug" Benson
*
Kevin Dunn as Lieutenant Commander James "Eyewitness" Block
*
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...
as Lieutenant Jim "Wash Out" Pfaffenbach
*
William O'Leary as Lieutenant Junior Grade Pete "Dead Meat" Thompson
*
Kristy Swanson as Lieutenant Junior Grade Janet "Bio" Kowalski
*
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Mr. Wilson
*
Bill Irwin as Lieutenant Commander Leland "Buzz" Harley
*
Ryan Stiles as Lieutenant Dominic "Mailman" Farnham
*
Heidi Swedberg as Mary Thompson
*
Rino Thunder as Owatonna "The Old One"
*
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...
as Himself
*
Don Lake as Roy
*
Cylk Cozart as Drill Sergeant
*
Bill Laimbeer as Himself
*
Jerry Haleva as
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
*
Gene Greytak as
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
* Mark Arnott as Rosener
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
was filmed throughout California in locations such as
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...
and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.
Critical reception
The film debuted at number one in the United States, and grossed $180 million worldwide.
The film holds an 82% approval rating at ''
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
'' based on 28 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "''Hot Shots!'' hits most of its parodic targets with aplomb, excelling as a daffy good time thanks to inspired gags and Charlie Sheen's crack comedic timing". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
The film was chosen for the 1991
Royal Film Performance.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker
1991 films
American aviation films
American parody films
1990s parody films
Films directed by Jim Abrahams
20th Century Fox films
Films about the United States Army
Films about the United States Navy
Films set in Iraq
Military comedy films
American slapstick comedy films
Films scored by Sylvester Levay
Fiction about prosthetics
Films with screenplays by Jim Abrahams
Films with screenplays by Pat Proft
Cultural depictions of Saddam Hussein
1991 comedy films
1990s English-language films
20th Century Studios franchises
1990s American films
Films shot in San Diego
Films shot in Los Angeles