Today’s quick review: Top Secret!. When American rock star Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer) is invited to East Berlin, the East Germans get more than they bargained for. Not only do his rebellious tendencies threaten to cause an international incident, but a chance meeting brings him into contact with Hillary Flammond (Lucy Gutteridge), a member of the French Resistance. Hillary recruits Nick into helping the Resistance rescue her father, a scientist kidnapped by the East Germans and forced to work on a superweapon for them. It’s up to Nick and his newfound allies to rescue Dr. Flammond and foil the plans of the East Germans.
Top Secret! is an eclectic pastiche of war films and American rock and roll. In spite of the nominal Cold War setting, the East Germans behave like Nazis, and their machinations are inexplicably opposed by a spirited French Resistance, despite the lack of a conquered France to oppose them. Val Kilmer plays the role of the brash, young American out to bring the American spirit to a country devoid of it. His character parodies American pop stars of the rock-and-roll era, particularly Elvis and The Beach Boys. The soundtrack of the film includes several fully-realized parodies of American rock music, songs that are both funny parodies and catchy in their own right.
Top Secret! is a fundamentally silly movie that is packed to the gills with sight gags, puns, and cheap jokes. Fans of Airplane! will find plenty to enjoy here. The plot makes little sense, jamming bits and pieces of war movies in with a music-based clash of cultures, but the jokes are solid and the film as a whole is quite entertaining. Watch Top Secret! when you’re in the mood for a silly, Airplane!-style comedy. Skip it if you’re looking for a deep, mature movie or a plot that makes sense.
7.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for good humor and a surprisingly strong set of parody songs.