Top Secret!

If you are after a comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, Top Secret! Is available in Australia on Foxtel Now, and in the US on YouTube TV right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. 1,421 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Val Kilmer sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Foxtel Now.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Top Secret! Is worth clearing space for. Sharp writing and a well-matched ensemble are what separate Top Secret! From the crowd. Popular and dashing American singer Nick Rivers travels to East Germany to perform in a music festival. When he loses his heart to the gorgeous Hillary Flammond, he finds himself caught up in an underground resistance movement. Rivers joins forces with Agent Cedric and Flammond to attempt the rescue of her father, Dr. Val Kilmer and Lucy Gutteridge lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1984. The timing in Top Secret! Is precise enough that even the throwaway lines land on a second watch. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Top Secret! Is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Val Kilmer anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.