Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)

Knowing that "Hot Shots! Part Deux" is from the "Airplane!" crowd should immediately identify that the whole thing is an excuse to be silly. And they do just that. Mostly spoofing the "Rambo" movies - but also various other flicks and even George H.W. Bush barfing on Japan's PM - they play everything for all that it's worth. OK, so maybe this is low humor, but still, there isn't a dull moment anywhere in the movie. It's impossible not to like. Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, and Jerry Haleva reprise their roles from the original, and there's also Rowan Atkinson (that's right: Mr. Bean!) this time around. So see it; you're sure to like it.

Fmovies: While the original will always be considered better, this film still held true to the Hot Shots mentality. While the whole concept may have been a little dragged out, at least they didn't try to make another movie to further destroy this franchise. Charlie Sheen was once again, Charlie Sheen. With yet another tongue-in-cheek performance, Sheen proves to us he is one of the most nonchalant comedy actor of our day. Plenty of funny things to talk about, but far too many to mention.

Its a piece of art, designed for one thing; making you laugh till you cry from it. I think its still getting more and more popular because when people watch it over they laugh for whole new reasons. I've probably watched it over twenty times, and I still find little spots of humor that I had missed in the nineteen other viewings. If you have never seen it, seriously put it in your life goals to watch this movie! May be you should save it for the day your sole mate dies... I think it will help.

If you don't like it, then I'm sorry I have tragic news... you are a conceited person. I would be surprised if you have any friends.

And FYI, It is better than the first, which is beyond hilarious too, but is less condensed over all.

Hot Shots! Part Deux fmovies. Let it be etched on stone: Since HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX was released American comedy cinema has been in a steep decline. Part of the reason for this is that HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX is an Everest of film-making that has yet to been scaled since. And once you reach the peak the only way is down. HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX has everything. It is the most consistently side-splittingly funny film since Chaplin and Keaton at their peak. It is the most devastating and uplifting story of love, war and sacrifice since CASABLANCA and it has rip-roaring action scenes (Die! Energizer! Bunny! Die!) on par with the mighty movies it is (lovingly) parodying. Charlie Sheen, despite his off-screen propensities, has always been an agreeable screen presence and here he delivers his performances for the ages. Valeria Golino is a goddess for all the ages and also displays impeccable comedic skills. She also kicks a considerable amount of butt without ever losing her grace and femininity. This is quite possibly the last great American female role with substance to it and sadly none have close since.

When people consider the great sequels of all time, usually they pick THE GODFATHER PART II. Then I think to myself - Why pick the three-hour plus GODFATHER PART II when a hundred times more out of the 90 minute HOT SHOTS PART DEUX? Does THE GODFATHER PART II have Al Pacino using a chicken as an arrow? No! So when you are looking at your shiny DVD collection and thinking "I think I'll watch a GODFATHER movie" my advise is to pick up HOT SHOTS PART DEUX and watch it... twice. The only way this film could be any better is if Miguel Ferrer had more screen time. That guy is a Plato of modern times. "War. It's fantastic!" Even Rowan Atkinson is funny in this film. Let's see Ingmar Bergman pull that feat off!

It's surprising how much fresher this movie looks and plays compared to most other spoofs of the 90's. It's a reminder (which you may need after watching films like "Dracula:Dead and Loving It") that ANY genre can work with the right amount of effort put into it. Maybe it does have a few duds here and there, but there are far more surrealistic gems along the way ("Geronimoooo!". "Geronimoooo!". "Meeeee!"). One of the best of its kind. (***)

I don't know if I've ever seen a comedy as zany or as randomly silly as "Hot Shots! Part Deux." Then again, I'm not all that familiar with the comedy genre, but I can say that between this movie and its predecessor, every pratfall, every parody, every little joke has been done. Part Deux is even crazier and more random than its nonsensically silly prequel and it's even less intelligent, but strangely enough, it's a lot more enjoyable. I thought the first "Hot Shots!" was a promising hit-and-miss satire; Part Deux succeeds.

Like its predecessor, Part Deux sets its plot as a parody of one specific film, but makes satirical parodies of dozens throughout its running time. The first movie was a parody of "Top Gun" but made references to dozens of other movies from "Dances With Wolves" to "Gone with the Wind." Likewise, the sequel is a parody of "Rambo III", but that's just the setup for all of the jokes that follow. Like Rambo, Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) is retired to the Far East when his former commander (Richard Crenna) comes in and asks him to join a rescue mission to save hostages from Iraqi captors. Sheen at first refuses but when Crenna is captured as he was in "Rambo III", Sheen heads in after him along with a misfit group of soldiers. And meanwhile, Admiral Benson (Lloyd Bridges) from the first movie has been promoted to president of the United States and continues his idiotic and incompetent running of the country.

Now this is precisely the sort of comedy that a movie-lover like myself enjoys. Why? Well, not only because it is so zany and buffoonish that one can't help but laugh at it, but because it's like a big mincemeat of movie references. The setup is a parody of "Rambo III", but I spotted parodies of "Casablanca", "Platoon" (which also starred Charlie Sheen), "Lady and the Tramp", "The Wizard of Oz", "Terminator 2" and so on. And just when I thought they were going to between two movies forget to parody "Star Wars", sure enough I got my fix for that. And that's not even the limit of it. The movie also makes jokes and points fingers at some of your favorite actors. A brief example is an enemy patrol boat that comes into the shot. The boat's name is "The Behn Gazaarah" as a tribute to actor Ben Gazzara. If you've seen lots of movies and you love the movies, this is the comedy for you because you can sit back, relax, have the time of your life laughing, and point your finger at the screen whenever a parody comes up and say "Yeah, that was from (insert movie title)!" "Hot Shots! Part Deux" opens up with a joke and closes with a joke and at least ninety percent of these are gut-busting in their effect. There are some jokes throughout the film, such as a few of the Saddam Hussein jokes toward the beginning, that were not all that funny, but around and after that were some of the zaniest, silliest, most random pratfalls I've ever seen. But it's also funny because it doesn't just make a simple parody and joke, but keeps pushing it one step ahead. Instead of just simply parodying the spaghetti-kiss scene from "Lady and the Tramp", it carries it to the next step with Charlie Sheen pushing a meatball across the plate with his nose and then the scene morphs in a parody of "Casablanca." It's also not just enough for the movie to create a character like Richard Crenna'