One of the most underrated things aobut childhood is having strange, jumbled up memories that you're not sure if you've experienced or dreamed. My first viewing of HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX (I don't think I ever saw the first one) flabbergasted the shit out of my ten year old self. I know it wasn't RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II, but the ongoing absurdity made me think that MAYBE I was watching this cornerstone movie of mine, only half-aware. So, there is no good reason to review a disposable movie like HOT SHOT! PART DEUX, but the exercise was intriguing to me. How did this mythical parody survived adulthood, self-consciousness and the post-Charlie Sheen era? Idleness, whiskey and Netflix would lead me towards an answer.
So yeah, HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX is a bona fide RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II parody. There is no doubt about that. The movie operates within its own paradigm, though, that includes several other movies and pop culture moments it wants to make fun of, including the mediocre 1990s political thrillers and the Leslie Nielsen comedies. There is an hostage situation in the Middle East and whenever a rescue squad is sent, they get taken hostage too. The U.S Army keeps plowing through its best personnel until the name of Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) comes up. He is the absolute best of what's left. He's all right and has ''shot a couple guns before''. The last hope of the free world is hiding somewhere in Thailand, helping out a couple horny monks and trying to get over the woman who broke his heart.
When I say HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX is a disposable movie, I understand it hurts to think of it this way. It's such a post-Charlie Sheen thing to imagine that he revisited pop culture deliberately, in this quirky and ironic fashion. Truth is, HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX is trying too hard to push an insane volume of jokes to be an iconic comedy. For example, there is a scene where president Tug Benson (Lloyd Bridges) is puking his guts off at an official dinner, because of spoiled seafood. It's not funny. It's not lewd or offensive either, it's just that...you know, poor guy is puking. What makes a piss/shit/puke joke funny is the anticipation. The object of the joke desperately trying to do the right thing and ultimately failing. But in HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX's alternate universe, it's OK to be sick in public, so that's all there is to the joke. The president being sick in public. *blank stare*
Kind of what I looked like when watching HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX.
So, is HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX funny at all? Of course it is. Once you rid yourself of the idea that Charlie Sheen is making this film funnier by his mere presence, the silly humour kind of gets to you. The slapstick parts aged very well. There is a scene where Topper Harley is trying to steal a set of keys with a broomstick that got me laughing out loud. It's not a very original recipe. It's tried and true comedy that's been making people laugh since the glory days of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, but HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX executed it well. The movie never got enough credit for the subtle, tongue-in-cheek jokes that got lost in the sheer volume of comedy it tried to push out. The parachute jumping scene comes to mind. Little absurd, political jokes ike that are sprinkled through HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX and give it some flavour.
I know Topper Harley kind of became iconic of th post-Charlie Sheen era. HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX is not Charlie Sheen's project though. He is merely used for his vague resemblance to a young Sylvester Stallone and his ability to hold a blank stare for longer than most. If he couldn't do that, I'm pretty sure the producers would've found a better suited actor for the HOT SHOTS! sequel, even if Sheen starred in the first. I'm not sure if anyone of you will read this and I would understand if you didn't. When the credits rolled on HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX, I was left with a vague feeling of emptiness and the idea that I could've done something better with my time. It's a movie that will survive better on YouTube, in isolated scenes, than in a complete viewing. So I understand if you skim through this without paying too much attention, internet. I won't take it personal.