How silly can you get?

Rating: 7/10 (6 September 2007)

"Top Secret!" is a comedy that parodies spy films from the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team that created "Airplane!" (1980) and later the "Naked Gun" films. The story follows the exploits of Nick Rivers, played by Val Kilmer, as he gets tangled in a plot in East Germany. Strangely and amusingly enough, though, East Germany's officials deliberately resemble Nazis.
Val Kilmer does well with the humor and musical numbers in the lead. Lucy Gutteridge is also appropriate as Nick's love interest. The resistance members and East German/Nazi officers were all well-cast as well. There are some brief but nice appearances from Omar Sharif and Peter Cushing.
The film has a number of funny moments, such as the singing of the East German anthem or Nick's air duct escape. I also enjoyed the musical numbers, particularly "How silly can you get?" However, I didn't find this film to be as consistently funny as "Airplane!" or the "Naked Gun". "Top Secret!" effectively mocks spy films, but isn't as amusing as other films from the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team.