Hot Shots!; Hot Shots! Part Deux

The 1991 Top Gun spoof Hot Shots! had the advantage of being co-directed and co-written by Airplane!'s pilot Jim Abrahams. Featuring the comedically challenged Charlie Sheen as cocksure daredevil pilot Topper Harley, Cary Elwes as his vain nemesis, and Valeria Golino as the va-va-voom psychologist, Hot Shots!'s stock characters also include a good-hearted family man tellingly nicknamed "Dead Meat." When not taking potshots at Top Gun, the film references Dances with Wolves, Michelle Pfeiffer's piano-writhing in The Fabulous Baker Boys and the food-tasting bit from 9½ Weeks. Some of this is still funny; too much of it, however, is not (Lloyd Bridges is a washout as a bumbling, addled commander). Still, fans are advised to stay tuned for the end credits--which include a great recipe for chocolate brownies--and they're sure to enjoy the mildly amusing featurette: "Making of An Important Movie." In Hot Shots! Part Deux, Charlie Sheen's Topper Harley tells lost-love Ramada (portrayed again by the ravishing Valeria Golino), "I never thought I'd see you again." Her response: "I had to come back, it's the sequel." Indeed, Jim Abrahams' 1993 Rambo-inspired burlesque follow-up is more timely than its predecessor with its hilarious humiliations of a Saddam Hussein-like character. Harley, "the best of what we have left," is recruited to lead a mission to rescue American hostages in the Middle East. Highlights include an inspired reference to Apocalypse Now involving Charlie's dad, Martin Sheen; a charming moment when Sheen and Golino re-enact the romantic spaghetti dinner scene from Lady and the Tramp, and a fun turn from good sport Richard Crenna, who spoofs his own role in the Rambo trilogy. The disc includes two expendable segments about the film's production. Both Hot Shots! and Hot Shots! Part Deux are strong optional purchases. (K. Lee Benson)