Let’s be clear, no movie will ever come close to This Is Spinal Tap in terms of spoofing and using satire against heavy metal music. It is just the ultimate movie in lampooning the culture, so lets just out that to rest. Airheads tried to say something clever about the music genre, but it didn’t come through, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t entertaining and funny with some cast of soon to be famous unknowns in the film world. I have a fondness for Airheads and the deadpan humor that stems from this rock n roll comedic movie and it also features one of Sandlers non-abrasive roles. It’s win win!
A hapless rock trio consisting of Chazz (Brendan Fraser), Rex (Steve Buscemi), and Pip (Adam Sandler) hits a brick wall with their attempts to get their demo tape played by record label executives. Chazz, on the edge since being thrown out by his girlfriend (Amy Locane), decides it’s time to take more serious action, and he leads his bandmates on a mission to invade the local “alternative” rock station, KPPX, and hold it hostage to get the band’s tape played on the air. The station staffers don’t realize that they’re being held with a water gun, and when they finally agree to play the tape, it gets eaten up by a faulty machine. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
I love the fact that this movie borrows from Dog Day Afternoon, which is a great movie but that incredible films moving plot point seems a bit farcical in the hands of a comedy writing team. I am not saying it is a bad thing that they are using that element for this movie, as the more chaotic and jokey nature of the radio station standoff needs a bit more quirk than seriousness. Airheads does deliver some laughs, mainly from Steve Buscemi and Brendan Fraser, with Fraser turning in a good role this time around. But even with their talents at the forefront of the movie, it’s the ensemble cast that helps add a little bit of flavor here and there.
In terms of the story and satire that they attempt at the expense of the rock n roll world, it doesn’t really work that well. The whole aim of the story is getting their tape played on air which in turn gets them noticed and then signed on to a label. Not sure if the goal to show the difficulty in getting signed, the hypocrisy of big business or the struggles that artist have in the unknown field, but it doesn’t follow through with anything. It kind of sets up these satirical points but doesn’t run with it, thus lessening the potential impact in favor of more comedic moments and screen time for antics. If it covered the trouble with the industry either in a satire mode or spoof, it would have been better.
Overall, the sum of it’s parts leaves us with a fairly entertaining movie that doesn’t have anything important to say other than one liners and quick quips at the expense of some specific genre ripping. The Trio of rockers get into the old “way over their heads” antics of a hostage situation to gain them the ability to play their music and get noticed. In the end, their antics are what make them famous and I guess that might be the whole point of the film and their take on the industry. If that’s the case, then mission accomplished. In the end, you can’t go wrong with a silly comedy with strong comedic talents from Buscemi, Sandler, Fraser and even Chris Farley who turns in a small role. This is one of those movies that you will in the afternoon on Comedy Central or whatever stations that show movies and have a descent laugh.
