Top Secret! by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker (1984)
My 14yo and his friend wanted to watch a silly movie. After considering various comedies and “B” movies, we settled on Top Secret!, a war movie parody from the same folks behind Airplane!. With its non-stop barrage of puns, sight gags, double entendres, and slapstick, I thought it’d be a sure hit, but their chief reaction was akin to confusion. I’d like to think that’s because Top Secret! doesn’t quite reach the same comedic heights as Airplane! or even The Naked Gun. But the simple fact is that most of the Cold War-era humor — even the purely visual jokes — flew right over their heads. And never mind the jokes about Mel Tormé, Publishers Clearing House, and Montgomery Ward, or the references to The Blue Lagoon, Casablanca, The Great Escape, and Elvis Presley movies. On the one hand, I get it. On the other hand, it makes me a little sad because my exposure to the ZAZ films was pretty foundational to my sense of humor, and I wonder what, if anything, might be comparable for my kids and their peers.
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