Better Late Than Never on "Top Secret"

Last Friday I went to The Arkadin to see "Top Secret". I have always wanted to see this movie, but for a myriad of reasons, I let it slip my mind. I was listening to "Scott Hasn't Seen" recently and they did the movie. I don't remember which host, Scott Aukerman or Shaun Diston, hadn't seen it yet, but then I listened to the episode and it reminded me how much I wanted to see "Top Secret". And it helped that The Arkadin is doing a month long tribute to Val Kilmer and his many wonderful movies. I believe they are showing his "Batman" this week.

Anyway, as I settled into a full theater, I was very excited to watch the movie, and it did not disappoint. I really like "Naked Gun" and other spoof movies. They were showing episodes of "Police Squad" beforehand, and those were hilarious as well. I'm a spoof show/movie fan, so "Top Secret" is right up my alley. I was immediately struck at how old Val Kilmer was when he made this movie. "Top Secret" came out in 1984, so Kilmer was a baby, and looked the part. I believe this is one of his first starring roles, and you can see that he has that "it" factor that big Hollywood studios crave. He owned every single moment he was on screen. You cannot take your eyes off him. And he is on screen the vast majority of this movie. He is funny throughout the whole thing. He dances and sings like a damn angel. He has great chemistry with all of his co-stars, but especially the female lead. I especially loved the concert scene when he gets let out of jail to perform. This is a perfect send up of all the movies Elvis Presley movies from the 50's. They also added a Beatles element, with all the fans losing their minds, and it was hilarious. I was laughing very hard during this scene. I also loved that every time he played the guitar during the movie, he was always playing a G chord, but the music in the background was far more complex. But the thing that got me most was how funny Val Kilmer was, and he was ostensibly the straight man throughout the movie. The sheer fact that he was able to keep a straight face while delivering some of his wonderfully funny lines is amazing to me. Seeing him do this, and control the movie the way he did, hammered home the fact that I could never be an actor. But, after seeing Kilmer do work here, not too many people could pull off what he did in "Top Secret". It is no surprise that Kilmer went on to star in so many big time movies after this. This was his jumping off point and he totally nailed it. During the "Scott Hasn't Seen" episode they kept mentioning this same thing, but I needed to see it for myself, and I'm stoked that I did.

"Top Secret" is a very funny spoof movie, but Val Kilmer's performance puts this movie over the top for me. I have been thinking back to stuff I liked in the movie and just laughing to myself since Friday. I highly recommend checking out "Top Secret" if you haven't yet. Val Kilmer is incredible and the movie is a ton of fun. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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