Top Secret! (1984) - Val Kilmer’s first movie and ZAZ follow up to Airplane!

The Reel DMC crew parachutes into the gloriously unhinged world of Top Secret!—the 1984 cult classic where Val Kilmer makes his film debut as a skeet-surfing, hip-swiveling Elvis-type who accidentally stumbles into World War II... or the Cold War... or something involving Nazis and NATO. Plot? Who needs one when you’ve got underwater bar fights and cows in combat boots?

In this episode, Dave, Marcus, and Colin kick off a Val Kilmer retrospective (RIP to the legend) by debating his top performances—Real Genius, Tombstone, Top Gun, even Kiss Kiss Bang Bang—while Marcus questions whether Top Secret! is actually good or just an elaborate excuse to put bananas in inappropriate places.

The guys dig into the ZAZ team’s joke-a-second formula, discuss whether Airplane! or The Naked Gun reign supreme, and marvel at Kilmer’s ability to sing, dance, and act with absolutely no character development whatsoever. Is it a brilliant satire or a cinematic fever dream stitched together with beach music and Yiddish puns?

One thing's for sure: this movie may not make much sense, but it sure as hell makes an impression.

Bonus: A backwards Swedish bookstore, a submarine smashing through a wall like the Kool-Aid Man with NATO clearance, and The Anal Intruder™—because nothing says "PG-rated spy spoof" like... wait, the censors saw that and said OK?? Oh, and a horse sings the Beatles. Seriously.

Related episodes

• Hot Shots! (1991)
• Lockdown Cinema: Real Genius (1985)