Zany slapstick comedies were all the rage in the '80s, and though the critics may not have always loved them, audiences gobbled them up. Films like Johnny Dangerously, Three Amigos, The Naked Gun, and The Police Academy franchise gave moviegoers the sophomoric physical comedy they craved, complete with sexual innuendo, broad humor, goofy puns, and plenty of poop jokes.
1984's Top Secret! was one such film. It starred a fresh faced Val Kilmer in his movie debut, displaying comedy chops he would also make the most of in 1985's Real Genius. The somewhat nonsensical plot parodies World War II films, combined with '60s teen beach musicals — and Kilmer doing his best Elvis Presley impersonation.
Top Secret! was made by the same creative team as Airplane!, and some of the more memorable moments include Omar Sharif crunched into the body of a compact car, a fantastic underwater bar fight scene, and the impressively clever "backwards bookstore" scene in the clip above, which is almost too smart for such a hilariously dumb movie.
