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{{work|wppage=Top Secret!}}
[[File:top_secret_poster_170.jpg|frame]]
 
'''''Top Secret!''''' (1984) is the second feature-length comedy by the Zucker -Abrahams -Zucker team (third, if one counts ''[[The Kentucky Fried Movie]]''), and stars [[Val Kilmer]] in his first theatrical role, as [[The Hero|Nick Rivers]], an Elvis-like rock idol sent into [[Crapsack World|East Germany]] for a goodwill tour. Once there, he is swept into a spy plot by [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|Hillary Flammond]], whose [[Mad Scientist|father]] is held captive by [[Those Wacky Nazis|the Communists]]. Hillary takes Nick to the [[La Résistance|French Resistance]] (yes, in East Germany), the charismatic leader of which is her former lover, and who seizes on the opportunity to use Nick's knowledge of the prison to break Dr. Flammond out.
 
That's the plot, but the movie is perhaps better appreciated for its farcical, even savage zaniness. It [[Parody Satire, Parody, Pastiche|parodies]] ''everything'', from rock idols to forced perspective shots to [[Professional Wrestling]] to goose-stepping Nazis to, well, cow disguises, with the ZAZ team's trademark [[Rapid-Fire Comedy]]. [[The Wizard of Oz (film)|"And I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow!"]]
 
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{{tropelist}}
=== This movie contains examples of: ===
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: WWII espionage films, and to a lesser extent, Elvis movies.
* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: Parodied. It takes him a couple tries to find the right one, but there seem to be several more than strictly necessary. One of them inexplicably leads to the toilet.
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* [[Badass]]: Parodied in Chocolate Mousse. The first thing we see him doing is sitting around, being a [[Scary Black Man]], smoking a huge cigar. When his name is called, he grunts in acknowledgment and ''eats'' his cigar. Later he drinks gasoline from a bottle, singlehandedly wields a ''cannon'' as a firearm, exhibits [[Improbable Aiming Skills]], wrestles a German soldier WWE-style, and apparently has people waiting just off-camera to hand him machine guns.
* [[Bamboo Technology]]: Parodied. While stranded on a deserted island, Hillary and Nigel build a modern home out of "[[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|bamboo, dried seaweed, and snot]]", complete with functioning garage door (and a remote).
* [[Bar Brawl]]: One of these occurs ''underwater'', with a full Western saloon set.
* [[BFG]]: Parodied, sort of. Chocolate Mousse uses a front-loader cannon as a handgun.
* [[The Big Board]]: The diorama Nigel uses to explain his plan to the other Resistance members.
* [[Big Electric Switch]]: The electric fence around the castle is turned on and off with one of these.
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: See [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign]], above. One particular gem should crack up German-speakers, though:
{{quote| '''Streck:''' Make sure they leave no marks. <br />
'''von Horst:''' (severely) Ich liebe dich, mein Schatz. {{spoiler|Translation: I love you, sweetie.}} }}
* [[Binocular Shot]]: Parodied. The herd of cows under observation walk ''into'' the "black frame".
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* [[The Cast Showoff]]: Val Kilmer did his own singing.
* [[Chairman of the Brawl]]: While in an underwater [[The Western|Western]] bar.
* [[Code Name]]/[[Theme Naming]]: Parodied. One group has French phrases for code names, and another has food names.
{{quote| '''Du Quois:''' This is Chevalier, Montage, Detente, Avant Garde, and Deja Vu.<br />
'''Deja Vu:''' Haven't we met before?<br />
'''Nick Rivers:''' I don't think so.<br />
'''Du Quois:''' Over there, Croissant, Souffle, Escargot, and [[Scary Black Man|Chocolate Mousse]]. }}
** Nigel "The Torch" (see [[Meaningful Name]])
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** Nick, when told by Dr. Flammond about an invention that can cheaply separate salt from seawater and asked if he understands what it means for the starving nations of the world (e.g. no more water shortages), answers: "Wow, they'd have enough salt to last forever!"
** Latrine's final [[Almost-Dead Guy]] appearance:
{{quote| '''Latrine:''' A traitor in our midst... [slams the corpse of a carrier pigeon on the table]<br />
'''Deja Vu:''' I see you have dealt with him appropriately. }}
* [[Commie Nazis]]
* [[Contrived Coincidence]]: Lampshaded and parodied.
{{quote| '''Nick:''' I'm not the first guy who fell in love with a woman that he met at a restaurant who turned out to be the daughter of a kidnapped scientist only to lose her to her childhood lover who she last saw on a deserted island who then turned out fifteen years later to be the leader of the French underground.<br />
'''Hillary:''' I know. It all sounds like some bad movie. ([[Aside Glance]]) }}
* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]:
{{quote| '''Colonel:''' He won't break. We've tried everything! Do you want me to bring out the [http://www.leroyneiman.com/core.htm Leroy Nieman] paintings? <br />
'''General:''' No. [[Even Evil Has Standards|We cannot risk violating the Geneva Convention]]. }}
* [[Depth Deception]]: Used as a visual gag.
* [[Destination Defenestration]]: A guy jumps out the window because ''he sneezed on his hand''. This leaves one of the guys puzzled, while another one just laughed.
* [[Dirty Communists]]
* [[Disney Villain Death]]: The soldier Chocolate Mousse throws off the top of a tower.
* [[East Germany]]: Parodically portrayed as Nazi Germany.
* [[Every Car Is a Pinto]]: Parodied, as the Pinto is the only car in the entire film to explode -- with the tiniest, most gentle nudge. The military vehicle that crashes into it manages to leave the scene of the accident successfully, despite being ''on fire''. "You've got to hand it to the Germans -- they make great cars."
* [[Everything's Better with Cows]]: Two characters infiltrate a top secret facility by dressing as a cow and mingling with the local herd thereof. Cows, that is, not a bunch of idiots dressed like cows. And then [[Black Comedy Rape|a bull comes]]...
* [[Excited Show Title!]]
* [[Fake-Out Make-Out]]: Nick and Hillary manage to combine this with [[Lost in a Crowd]], avoiding a patrol by ducking into a park crowded with couples making out and doing likewise.
* [[Funny Background Event]]:
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** The pigeon statue.
** The snacks at the ballet.
** The headwaiter tailoring a new tuxedo for Nick.
* [[Gag Sub]]: The East German national anthem, helpfully translated in subtitles. Double gag in that it's actually a high school fight song.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]:
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** Two phallic scenes in a row: Cedric's telescopic antenna and the ballet, the latter of which was [[Bowdlerized]] for cable. But those ballet dancers are still bouncing off of ''something''...
* [[Gratuitous German]]: Blinkenlights-style.
{{quote| DAS FENCEN SWITCHEN}}
* [[I Drank What]]:
{{quote| '''Nick:''' "What the hell is this stuff?"<br />
'''Chocolate Mousse:''' "Gasoline. HAHAHAHAHA." (glug, glug, glug) }}
* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Chocolate Mousse fires a machine gun into a melee and only hits the bad guys. He then gets a high five from a [[Jive Turkey]].
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* [[Last-Minute Reprieve]]: Nick is so popular that the consulate insists on him giving one last performance before his execution.
* [[Lethal Joke Item]]: The "Anal Intruder" jackhammer-powered dildo.
{{quote| '''German Officer''': "What he did not realize was that, in this country, we use 220 volt current. He was found [[Squick|impaled]] upon a large electrical device. Our surgeons did what they could, but it took them two hours just to remove the smile from his face."}}
* [[Line-of-Sight Name]]: Nick's father was shaving...
* [[The Loins Sleep Tonight]]: Parodied. It seems that Hillary is consoling Nick for his failure to perform, but it turns out that she's reading a trashy romance novel out loud.
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* [[Made of Plasticine]]: Parodied. A guard falls off a building, lands on his back, and ''shatters''. (Also counts as a classic [[Railing Kill]])
* [[Malt Shop]]: Yup. In [[East Germany]].
* [[Meaningful Name]]:
** Nick and Hillary go through the following exchange at a restaurant:
{{quote| '''Hillary:''' "My name is Hillary. It means, 'She whose bosoms defy gravity.'"<br />
'''Nick:''' (after a [[Beat]]) "My name's Nick."<br />
'''Hillary:''' "Nick! What does that mean?"<br />
'''Nick:''' "I don't know; my father [[Line-of-Sight Name|thought of it while he was shaving]]." }}
** Nigel "The Torch" -- Hillary carries a torch for him.
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* [[The Mole]]: {{spoiler|Nigel}}.
* [[National Anthem]]:
{{quote| Hail, hail East Germany, land of fruit and grape <br />
Land where you'll regret if you try to escape <br />
No matter if you tunnel under or take a running jump at the wall <br />
Forget it, the guards will kill you, if the electrified fence doesn't first. }}
* [[Not So Dire]]
* [[The One Thing I Don't Hate About You]]:
{{quote| '''Deja Vu:'''You've got to hand it to the Germans, they make great cars. }}
* [[Off-the-Shelf FX]]: Inverted. The 'cow suit' is really an actual cow with boots on.
* [[Pig Latin]]: The priest: "Ooreyay oingay ootay etgay iedfray in the airchay."
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* [[Salvage Pirates]]: Leads to gang rape. And an aversion to capitalism.
* [[Sexy Discretion Shot]]: To a fireplace. When the couple rolls into view in front of the fireplace, the camera pans again--to ''another'' fireplace. In some cuts, the camera eventually pans to a window with a view of a burning building. Further parodied some minutes later when a kiss between the two parachuting protagonists cuts to a fireplace hanging from another parachute.
* [[Shout-Out]]: Too many to name, from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' to the Beach Boys.
{{quote| "This is NOT Mel Torme!"}}
* [[Sic Em]]: The rubber stamp of "[[Stand by Me|Chopper, sic balls!]]"
* [[Smoking Hot Sex]]: After the calf blowjob scene no less.
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* [[There Was a Door]]
* [[This Is Reality]]: Played with:
{{quote| '''Hillary:''' I know. It all sounds like the plot of some bad movie.<br />
(Awkward pause. Nick and Hillary [[Aside Glance|look toward the camera, embarrassed]].) }}
* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: The blind Bruno and the moronic Klaus who only reads the ''New York postPost''.
* [[Traintop Battle]]: Parodied hard. The bad guy owes the transit authority a new bridge.
* [[Travel Montage]]: A dotted line makes its way along a streetmap... and is subsquently eaten by Pac-Man.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Top Secret]]▼
[[Category:Film]]
▲[[Category:Top Secret{{PAGENAME}}]]
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