THE REWATCHABLES · July 23, 2019
A 1986 action / adventure directed by Tony Scott, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The film's opening sweep of the carrier, deck crew, and first jet launch is cited as pure immersive spectacle.
Opening minutesThe bar serenade is treated as ludicrous, public, and iconic, with the live mic and choreography as part of the joke.
About 24 minThe volleyball game in jeans and sunglasses is the episode's signature example of eroticized 80s excess.
About 8 minThe piano-singalong scene is valued for establishing Goose's bond and the movie's offbeat social world.
About 40 minThe tragedy is acknowledged as emotional, shocking, and central to the film's stakes.
About 40 minThe graduation-to-combat pivot is admired as absurdly heightened and emblematic of the movie's fantasy logic.
About 48 minThe climactic aerial battle and post-mission celebration are treated as the movie's biggest payoff.
About 48 minMaverick following Charlie into the bathroom and asking to shower at her house are called creepy or insane by modern standards.
About 56 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsThe movie is clearly eroticized and seems designed with that gaze in mind.
Mallory RubinIt reads as erotic propaganda more than a straightforward romance.
Chris RyanIt is loaded with 1980s male spectacle and subtext.
Mallory RubinMostly no; she sees the scene as confusing and public rather than romantic.
Bill SimmonsThe chemistry is weak, though the movie tries to sell it.
Jason ConcepcionThe movie reaches for attraction more than it lands it.
Bill SimmonsBeach volleyball or the final dogfight, depending on the moment.
Chris RyanThe beach volleyball scene is the funniest and most iconic.
Jason ConcepcionThe final dogfight and landing celebration are the payoff.
Bill SimmonsIt works emotionally even if you know it's coming.
Chris RyanThe movie clearly builds toward it.
Bill SimmonsIt functions as patriotic spectacle without much geopolitical explanation.
Jason ConcepcionThe cool factor remains the point, even if the politics are thin.
Bill says the movie made Cruise a megastar and created the Cruise persona that followed for years.
Opening minutesChris argues the film is the sound, look, and attitude of the decade.
Opening minutesJason loves how the movie immerses viewers in the world of carrier operations and flight.
Opening minutesBill treats the volleyball sequence as a defining piece of both eroticism and comedy.
About 8 minMallory thinks the seduction is weirdly appealing but also public, embarrassing, and too showy.
About 24 minBill loves Kilmer's weird, icy, scene-dominating performance.
About 8 minChris emphasizes Cruise as the kind of actor who fully sells impossible physical action.
About 8 minJason acknowledges the military propaganda feel while still loving the movie's cool factor.
About 8 minMallory praises Skerritt's balance of authority, warmth, and intimidation.
About 48 minBill calls Goose's death emotional and hugely rewatchable despite the tragedy.
About 40 minBill is very excited about the sequel and jokes that the podcast is part of the campaign to get an early screening.
About 1:20The movie is treated as a perfect artifact of Reagan-era blockbuster culture, MTV aesthetics, and glossy eighties fashion.
Opening minutesThe panel sees the movie as cool fantasy first, with little realism about warfare or military life.
About 8 minThey repeatedly discuss the movie's eroticized male gaze, beach volleyball, and broader queer reading.
About 8 minThis is presented as the birth of Cruise's long-running screen identity: cocky, physical, and dangerously likable.
Opening minutesSeveral scenes that were likely meant seriously are now cherished because they are unintentionally funny.
About 16 minThe episode was done as an 'emergency Rewatchables' after the Top Gun Maverick trailer got everyone excited.
Opening minutesThe film won the Oscar for 'Take My Breath Away' and had other soundtrack accolades mentioned on air.
About 24 minThe movie grossed about $356 million on a $15 million budget.
About 24 minThe Navy reportedly saw recruitment spikes after the movie, and the hosts say bases were set up in movie theaters.
About 8 min · medium confidenceThe film's inspiration came from a California magazine article titled 'Top Guns'.
About 1:04A stunt pilot, Art Scholl, died during production filming and the movie is dedicated to him.
About 1:04Tony Scott reportedly said he was making 'soft porn' and used baby oil on the volleyball scene.
About 16 minKelly McGillis was taller than Tom Cruise, and a trench was allegedly dug for the ending scene to match heights.
About 1:12The film's dogfight and flight scenes were more impressive on a theater screen than on TV, according to the hosts.
About 1:04A Kansas City Barbecue restaurant location is mentioned as a filming site for two scenes.
About 1:04Used as a Tom Cruise comparison: 'Top Gun with cars.'
Opening minutesThe episode explains that the planned Reservoir Dogs Rewatchables was bumped for this emergency Top Gun show.
Opening minutesUsed to compare other 80s signifiers to Top Gun as the real eighties artifact.
Opening minutesCited as an influence on the movie's music-video style and mood.
About 8 minUsed to show that the same year still contained a more anti-war vision.
About 8 minMentioned in connection with Harold Faltermeyer and 80s soundtrack/box-office synergy.
About 24 minThe review of Ebert quotes Firefox as a benchmark for aerial scenes.
About 24 min · medium confidenceMallory compares Charlie's scene setup to a Bachelor gimmick and limo introduction bit.
About 24 minThe sex scene is called the inspiration for the MacGruber sex scene.
About 56 minUsed as another movie that messed with their idea of sex/romance on screen.
About 56 minReferenced for the carrot/blowjob lesson comparison to Top Gun's sex scene.
About 56 minUsed in a side joke about call signs and the Viper shirt.
About 8 minCited as another cool call sign in the broader alternate-identity discussion.
About 8 minThe sequel is discussed repeatedly as the reason for doing the emergency episode and as a source of anticipation.
Opening minutesUsed as a joke analogy for the volleyball game spreading through Miramar.
About 24 minThe hosts repeatedly riff on famous Top Gun lines and the fact that this was a rushed, trailer-driven episode.
Opening minutesThey spend a long stretch trading favorite call signs and joking about alternate identities.
About 8 minThe volleyball scene becomes a recurring joke about sweat, baby oil, and eroticized athleticism.
About 8 minMultiple jokes frame Cruise as someone whose ideas about romance, sex, and mature behavior are childlike.
About 56 minThe hosts keep returning to the strange logic of asking to shower at Charlie's house and how that relates to sex.
About 1:04“That's a crime.”About 1:04
“Son, your ego is writing checks”About 48 min
“Take me to bed or lose me forever.”About 32 min
“The list is long but distinguished.”About 1:20
“I am dangerous.”About 8 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Top Gun, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Mallory RubinThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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