If ever a movie was ripe for sending up, then Top Gun was it, and, although this lacks the charm of classic spoofs Airplane! and The Naked Gun, there are enough good gags on show to win over those who wished Tom Cruise had gone down in flames. This time director Jim Abrahams goes solo without the Zucker brothers, but he still displays the same cheerful lack of taste and subtlety, and finds time to poke fun at movies ranging from The Fabulous Baker Boys through to Dances with Wolves. Charlie Sheen enjoys himself as the ludicrously macho fighter pilot hero, although Lloyd Bridges bags the most laughs as the altogether untogether commanding officer.

The gang that created Airplane! and The Naked Gun sets its sights on Top Gun in this spoof. Topper Harley is a talented but unstable fighter pilot with an axe to grind: clearing the family name. His mission is to avenge his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers. He also gets involved in a relationship with Ramada Thompson, a woman with an unusually talented stomach. Hot Shots! makes fun of a variety of other films, from Dances with Wolves to The Fabulous Baker Boys.