Hot Shots, Part Deux

When people ask me what type of movies I like, I generally respond with drama. When they ask me what my favorite comedies are, it’s hard to answer. For a while, I stopped going to comedies. I felt that SNL had somewhat flooded the market, and that my idea of comedy had somewhat died. And it’s true; some of the best comedies (in my humble opinion) are a thing of the past. And today, I bring you a review of one of these films. Today, I review Hot Shots, Part Deux.

Writer/Director Jim Abrahams, who brought us such films as Hot Shots, and the Police Academy films—and more recently, the Scary Movie series—brings us this sequel to the 1991 hit comedy, Hot Shots. Charlie Sheer returns as the Rambo parody Topper Harley. Together with new and returning characters (Vareria Golino as Ramada, Lloyd Bridges as President Thomas Benson and Ryan Stiles as demolitions specialist Rabinowitz) the team must infiltrate the Iraqi prison camp to free two sets of captured soldiers. Tensions mount when a spy is discovered within the ranks of the American team, as well as a reunion of Topper and Ramada after a heartbreaking separation.

This is 1990s slapstick comedy at its best. Jokes surrounding plays on words, as well as general physical humor keep this film pushing forward. The production value is fairly strong, and the level of concentration from the actors is solid. It’s somewhat difficult to judge a comedy, since comedy varies from one person to the other. It seems to me that this is a film that will at least make you smile a few times, if not laugh out loud at the absolute absurdity of some of the action sequences as well as the dialogue.

What happened to this sort of comedy? The Scary Movie series has somewhat revived a dead age of slapstick, but I fear that such trademark films like Naked Gun, and Airplane! are long gone. Some of the great moments in 90s slapstick occur in this film, and if anything it’s certainly worth the rent. Give it a try if you’re looking for something funny and ridiculous to watch. Don’t go in thinking it’s going to be one of the best, serious comedies of the 90s decade, but know that so many of us laughed in each and every scene filmed. 6.5 of 10.