Cody's Top 30 Favorite Movies of All-Time: #30 - Airheads

One of those bizarre, totally obscure 90's comedies that surprisingly a lot of people haven't seen. At least a lot of people I've met. Three guys who are in a rock band going nowhere, decide to hold up the local radio station so that they can get their demo played on the air. The entire movie plays off like The Chase, in that it takes place in one setting with a ton of twists and turns and bumps along the road, whereas The Chase took place on a highway bound for Mexico, Airheads takes place in the radio station.

The cast is fantastic. The three metalheads in the band are Brendan Fraser (Chazz) , Steve Buscemi (Rex), and Adam Sandler (Pip). The DJ Ian the Shark is played by Joe Montegna, the radio station manager is Michael McKean. Supporting cast includes Ernie Hudson and Chris Farley as cops who come to the scene, David Arquette as a disc jockey, Michael Richards as a corporate drone who has authority over the station. John Hughe alumni Judd Nelson plays the record producer Chazz initially tries to sway to listen to his tape. There's even a cameos by Harold Ramis and Lemmy. Fucking Lemmy.

There's laughs, there's goofy moments, there's even a couple of painful moments, mostly by Chazz's girlfriend Kayla (Amy Locane) as she just complains and complains. Michael Richards spends most of the moving acting like a clumsy fuck (kind of like Kramer, *cough*) before eventually being subdued by Ian the Shark and sprayed with a fire extinguisher by Rex. There's several ploys by Ernie Hudson and Chris Farley to lure the boys out and get them to surrender the hostages. It's a ridiculous movie.

There's a scene where the trio are writing a huge list of demands from the police so that in case things go south, they can cop an insanity plea. Some of the things they request are a football helmet filled with cottage cheese, a giant baby bottle, and naked pictures of Bea Arthur.

The climax involves Judd Nelson getting wind of Chazz holding up the radio station and ventures out to offer the band, ridiculously named "The Lone Rangers", a record contract to get them to end the hold up. The band then moves for a live show on top of the radio station, which the band throws because there's no electricity flowing to their instruments. The movie ends with the band playing a live show in prison and the scrolling text says that "Their album, Live in Prison, went triple platinum."

Airheads, to me, is a classic. It's got some great moments, some dull moments, and some memorable moments. It's got a kick-ass opening anthem sung by Mötörhead featuring Ice Cube, and a custom track by a faux Lone Rangers titled "Degenerated", which you can hear in the movie. It's got an all-star cast even though it's one of those bizarre comedies not a lot of people remember. I recommend it. It's a lot of fun, at the very least.