There are countless comedies that stand up to repeat viewings but with many, the law of diminished returns often sees the belly-laughs replaced over time with a sentimental smirk. It’s as ludicrous as it is clever and this is why the movies endure. Likewise, who could forget the food sex scene where Harley and Ramada (Valeria Golino) turn 9 ½ Weeks up to 11 by frying a full English breakfast on her midriff? How about the aforementioned Lady And The Tramp restaurant scene, where spaghetti eating not only leads to smooching, but to Harley snout-pushing a meatball over to his lady. Each takes a moment of recognition… and both end up fanboying with “I loved you in Wall Street!” Genius. Willard now narrates his mission to confront Apocalypse Now’s Colonel Kurtz, but not before passing his IRL son. Take Part Deux: As Topper Harley’s voiceover documents his boat journey down through enemy jungle territory, a familiar voice intertwines and overlaps his. Several such scenes have outshone the movies and enjoy a certain amount of infamy as standalone classic comedy moments in their own right. If comedies earn their classic status through memorable, nay, iconic scenes then the Hot Shots movies have undoubtedly earned their place alongside – although not equal to – ZAZ’s finest work. We see illegal ‘Dim Sum’ fighting where tickling nearly gets you a tap-out and we see a literal fistful of bullets take out an entire gang of henchmen. We see Harley with infinite ammo, mowing down innumerable bad guys as his high score rockets (from “Equal to RoboCop!” to “BLOODIEST MOVIE EVER!”). Topper Harley is, again, familiarly recruited to come out of retirement for one final mission to take on (the previously bombed) Saddam Hussein. If I was joking, I’d say “a horse walks into a bar and the barman says, ‘Why the long face?’”įollowing just two years later, Part Deux had a deeper pool from which to draw, taking on ‘Nam’ classics, 80’s action fodder and, er, Lady And The Tramp. Topping the class though is Hot Shots: Part Deux (1993) which is the rarest of creatures: a sequel that is better than its predecessor. And then… well, it’s not really that important. ![]() Familiarly, ace pilot Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) returns to the skies to defend his country, but not without his share of Daddy issues which threaten to ground him. There are, however, two exceptions in the form of what feels like ZAZ’s last surviving (albeit bastard) heir: Hot Shots and Hot Shots: Part Deux.ĭirected solely by Abrahams and written alongside Pat Proft (who collab’d on the original Naked Gun as well as writing Police Academy and err… The Star Wars Holiday Special), the Hot Shots films spoofed action movies with a healthy helping of modern movie references from outside the genre.Īmongst others, primarily Hot Shots (1991) got tone on Top Gun, although strangely referencing very little of its target’s homoeroticism. It’s safe to say that largely, their individual work lacked the laughs of their collaborations. ![]() Whereas Jerry Zucker ditched the LOLs for all the feels in 1990’s blubfest Ghost, brother David went back to the well too many times, eventually directing Scary Movies 3, 4 (where he was reunited with Abrahams) and 5. ![]() The trio going their separate ways seemed to be the death knell for their trademark blend of parody, slapstick and visual humour. Watch Hot Shots! and Hot Shots: Part Deux on Amazon It’s hardly hyperbolic to say there are too many to list, so for reference, let’s just go with Lloyd Bridges’ McCroskey having the least-successful ‘Stoptober’ ever, the surreal smut of the recently stuffed beaver and the moment the blow-up autopilot gets in-felated. Their partnership cemented the late Leslie Nielsen as a leading man, comedy legend and the King of Deadpan alongside creating iconic comedy moments. Throw in a host of regular actor collaborations and to use a music analogy, they had found their sound. The writing, directing and producing partnership of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker stamped their mark all over the spoof movie genre for the best part of a decade finding success with The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad!, Airplane!, and Top Secret!.Īlongside an apparent fondness for exclamation marks, the threesome produced a body of work which is immediately identifiable as their own: an unmistakable blend of deadpan delivery, slapstick comedy, and visual gags.
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