I'd seen parts of this movie years ago and decided to rewatch it. It's great. Probably one of my favourite comedies now.
This movie is a reminder of the dynamic between stupid and genius - that fine line we learn about in This Is Spinal Tap. In comedy, stupid and genius often overlap heavily. Good comedy tends to be weird, crazy, stupidly obvious, but also clever, creative and unexpected.
The gag might be simple, but choosing to do something so stupid and committing to it is another story. Top Secret! Has some of the most gloriously dumb but also laugh-out-loud hilarious sequences I've ever scene. My stomach was hurting and I was still bursting out laughing more.
I think it works for several key reasons. One is that the actors are all taking it very seriously. If this is a wacky, immature comedy, nobody seems to realise it. Nobodies playing for laughs, they think this is a real Bond or Elvis movie and that makes every joke so much more effective. Seeing moronic events but with complete sincerity.
Along the same lines is the commitment the filmmakers show to every joke, no matter how stupid. Even if it makes no sense, even if it feels too obvious, too silly, they go for it. Even if that then requires building large props or underwater sets or other expensive processes, they commit to each joke. It makes it funnier to me how much effort went into such juvenile ideas.
In a sense, they're wasting our time, but that's part of what I find hilarious about it. Like, "yes, this is obviously so fake that even a 5-year-old would realise, but we're gonna do it anyway and pretend that it makes sense".
Val Kilmer is likeable in the main role as are most of the supporting cast. The only major weakness is the anticlimactic ending. Ironically, I was more drawn into Top Secret! Than most straight, serious movies.
I think I realised something about movies - it's not how "real" they are, it's how well-crafted they are, how much time and effort went into them and how much respect for the audience. That's what determines how much you care.
You can tell that a lot of effort went into Top Secret!. The directors clearly like their jokes. They're proud of them. They put a lot in. They've seen a lot of movies and know how to play with our expectations. They're not afraid of obvious jokes as long as they fit and are well executed. For example, the guy called Deja Vu who seems... vaguely familiar.
So by the end, I really wanted them to blow up the bad guys, I wanted a big finale. But alas, it kind of abruptly stops. Yes, it's hilarious, but too sudden and underwhelming. I wanted some big explosions, crazy death scenes, an over-the-top happy ending, etc. Then it would have been a 10.
But as it is, this is one of the best spoof movies ever made. No, it's not "intelligent" in the conventional sense. But it does show a lot of insight and creativity. Consider the scene filmed in reverse - most of the time it's hard to tell. That's not easy to pull off and it creates some great visual effects, reminding me of Tenet.
It's this casual mixing of genius and stupid which endears Top Secret! And similar movies like the Naked Gun series to me. They embrace dumb ideas as if they're brilliant. Almost every joke landed for me and hence, I can forgive the weaknesses - I'm too busy laughing at the last joke to care. And there's enough normal plot to enjoy this as a normal movie, albeit a silly one. There's a bit of action and romance in between the laughs, but mostly just a tonne of laughs.
This movie is a reminder of the dynamic between stupid and genius - that fine line we learn about in This Is Spinal Tap. In comedy, stupid and genius often overlap heavily. Good comedy tends to be weird, crazy, stupidly obvious, but also clever, creative and unexpected.
The gag might be simple, but choosing to do something so stupid and committing to it is another story. Top Secret! Has some of the most gloriously dumb but also laugh-out-loud hilarious sequences I've ever scene. My stomach was hurting and I was still bursting out laughing more.
I think it works for several key reasons. One is that the actors are all taking it very seriously. If this is a wacky, immature comedy, nobody seems to realise it. Nobodies playing for laughs, they think this is a real Bond or Elvis movie and that makes every joke so much more effective. Seeing moronic events but with complete sincerity.
Along the same lines is the commitment the filmmakers show to every joke, no matter how stupid. Even if it makes no sense, even if it feels too obvious, too silly, they go for it. Even if that then requires building large props or underwater sets or other expensive processes, they commit to each joke. It makes it funnier to me how much effort went into such juvenile ideas.
In a sense, they're wasting our time, but that's part of what I find hilarious about it. Like, "yes, this is obviously so fake that even a 5-year-old would realise, but we're gonna do it anyway and pretend that it makes sense".
Val Kilmer is likeable in the main role as are most of the supporting cast. The only major weakness is the anticlimactic ending. Ironically, I was more drawn into Top Secret! Than most straight, serious movies.
I think I realised something about movies - it's not how "real" they are, it's how well-crafted they are, how much time and effort went into them and how much respect for the audience. That's what determines how much you care.
You can tell that a lot of effort went into Top Secret!. The directors clearly like their jokes. They're proud of them. They put a lot in. They've seen a lot of movies and know how to play with our expectations. They're not afraid of obvious jokes as long as they fit and are well executed. For example, the guy called Deja Vu who seems... vaguely familiar.
So by the end, I really wanted them to blow up the bad guys, I wanted a big finale. But alas, it kind of abruptly stops. Yes, it's hilarious, but too sudden and underwhelming. I wanted some big explosions, crazy death scenes, an over-the-top happy ending, etc. Then it would have been a 10.
But as it is, this is one of the best spoof movies ever made. No, it's not "intelligent" in the conventional sense. But it does show a lot of insight and creativity. Consider the scene filmed in reverse - most of the time it's hard to tell. That's not easy to pull off and it creates some great visual effects, reminding me of Tenet.
It's this casual mixing of genius and stupid which endears Top Secret! And similar movies like the Naked Gun series to me. They embrace dumb ideas as if they're brilliant. Almost every joke landed for me and hence, I can forgive the weaknesses - I'm too busy laughing at the last joke to care. And there's enough normal plot to enjoy this as a normal movie, albeit a silly one. There's a bit of action and romance in between the laughs, but mostly just a tonne of laughs.
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