TOP SECRET! (3/30-4/05)
Directors Jim Abrahams and David Zucker took the world by storm in the late 70s and early 80s with the film Airplane! and the television showPolice Squad, which would later become The Naked Gun! trilogy. Since then they've had success with Hot Shots!, Hot Shots: Part Deux!, and Mafie!. But in 1984, they put out their most bizarre and ultimately failed Top Secret!. I happen to love this film, but it was a box office failure and is still considered to be horrible. Well, in case you haven't noticed, I tend to think my tastes in film are somewhat different than that of the general public and most film critics, and that's why I've selected this film for the site.
The film takes elements of spy thrillers, Elvis and beach movies of the 50s, and then parodies plenty of notable films that are worth parodying. The story centers around Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer in his first film role), an American rock star with hits such as "Skeet Surfin'" and "How Silly Can You Get," who is asked to play at an Intenational Festival in 1950s Germany. In Germany, however, things aren't quite as calm as they seem, with an underground movement known as 'The Resistance' trying to uncover and stop the governments secret plots. Nick soon runs into Hilary Flammond (Lucy Gutteridge) who is searching for her missing father, Dr. Paul Flammond, who is being forced to create a secret weapon for the German government. Nick and Hilary are soon on the run, joining with The Resistance to stop the sinister plans, and to save the life of Dr. Flammond.
Okay, now don't think too hard on the story, because its just your basic spy thriller. What makes this film enjoyable is the other stuff Abrahams and Zucker are known for. The musical numbers when Nick sings (and it's really Kilmer, too, a precursor to his Jim Morrison role) are downright hilarious, and it's no wonder that even though the film tanked he still became a star. There are literally thousands of jokes playing on the German language, and Yiddish, too, because they use it instead of German for alot of jokes. For instance: after receiving an order, one of the German officers replies with, "Ich liebe Dich, mein Schatz," which translates to "I love you, honey." Then, in the restaurant scene when Hillary places an order with the waiter in apparent German, she's actually speaking in Yiddish. A rough translation of her line is, "Go bash your head in." The waiter also asks if Nick is ready to order, ostensibly in German, but actually using the Yiddish curse "go take a shit in the ocean".
Almost all of the gags in the film are hilarious, mostly the sight gags which I can't really describe on here, but there is one single scene that makes this film brilliant. The scene takes place in a bookstore, and Nick and Hilary go to see Sven Jorgensen, a Swiss member of The Resistance. The scene is roughly 3 or 4 minutes long, and was staged, shot, and then run backwards in the film. All the lines were spoken backwards, they walk backwards, but when they run the scene backwards it is flawless, with only certain gags letting you know (other than the unique sound to the voices) that it's wrong. The scene is unparalled, and completely original, and it works beautifully. For that, I give this film two thumbs up. Because for every joke that may not produce a laugh, there's still this scene, ans it's enough for me.
If you've never had a chance to see this film, go rent it or buy it (it just came out on DVD with all sorts of cool extra stuff). A fun time, with plenty of memorable lines and scenes, and definately worth a look.
Garth Simmons.
"I'm not the first guy who fell in love with a woman that he met at a restaurant who turned out to be the daughter of a kidnapped scientist only to lose her to her childhood lover who she last saw on a deserted island who then turned out fifteen years later to be the leader of the French underground."
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