Review #556: 'Top Secret!' (1984)

Although it can be argued that they are still being made, the 'spoof' movie really died a death in the 1990's. Recently, there have been tragedies such as Epic Movie (2007) and its various imitations, all of which were the cinematic equivalent of sticking your cock in a blender. They used to be the forte of comedic giants and legends such as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and the Monty Python crew. David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams made perhaps the last great spoof in Top Secret!, a relentless parody of spy thrillers that seems unfairly forgotten in the wake of ZAZ's (Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker) more popular Airplane! (1980) and The Naked Gun (1988).

With East Gemany planning an attack during a cultural festival, they invite American rock 'n' roll singer Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer) to perform as a distraction for the audiences. Rivers, a sort of Beach Boys meets Elvis Presley, soon gets embroiled in the French resistance movement when he meets the beautiful Hillary Flammond (Lucy Gutteridge) who is searching for her missing father Dr. Paul (Michael Gough). Along with a group of misfit revolutionaries with various French pun's for names, and Hillary's lost-love Nigel (Christopher Villiers), they must break into the high-security prison where Dr. Paul is being held. 

Top Secret! is a film of such effortless hilarity, it's a wonder how and why the three directors behind it parted ways and made such drivel as Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998), Rat Race (2001) and Scary Movie 3 (2003), highlighting just how much they needed each other. It offers near to non-stop sight-gags that vary from the inspired (a train station pulling away from the train) to the downright ridiculous (a character gets crushed in a car then is seen later with his arms and legs sticking out of it, still alive), nearly all of which hit the mark. But there's also clever word play, and that lost art - embracing the stereotype. Would a film nowadays get away with calling it's only black character Chocolate Mousse? 

There are literally too many funny scenes to mention, but the one that had me in stitches is the scene in which Nigel and Du Quois (Harry Diston) dress up as the rear and front of a cow, when a real cow comes to suck on its udders, much to the pleasure of Nigel. They stop, with Du Quois insisting they make haste, and Nigel replies "you're always in such a bloody hurry!". It's marvellously old-school, headed by a wonderful performance from Kilmer, who as well as getting plenty of belly laughs himself, also proves himself to be a bloody good dancer in the few performance scenes he has. But it is also a sad reminder of just how good this sub-genre used to be.

Directed by: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

Starring: Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Jeremy Kemp, Christopher Villiers, Michael Gough

Country: USA/UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie