Ah, nostalgia! Be it that old cartoon, a favorite toy or a comic book from days gone by, isn’t it great, when out of the blue, the memories come flooding back, and you’ve no choice but to exclaim “Holy Crap! Remember…?”

The Lone Rangers in action.

[Chazz and Rex are testing Chris]

Chazz: “Who’d win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?”

Chris Moore: “Lemmy.”

[Rex imitates a game show buzzer]

Chris Moore: “… God?”

Rex: “Wrong, dickhead, trick question. Lemmy is God.”

Oh, 1994. You brought us so much. Donkey Kong Country. The start of James Robinson’s Starman. Greenday’s Dookie. I’m sure there was more. But one thing that tends to get overlooked is a little gem of a movie called Airheads.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not one of the greatest movies ever. But it is a damn funny flick that I feel is often underrated. Director Michael Lehmann, who also helmed Hudson Hawk, one of my personal favorites and one of the most underrated movies of all time, crafted a fun love letter to wanna-be rockers and metal fans. And just look at that cast: Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Joe Mantegna, Michael McKean, Michael Richards, Ernie Hudson, Marshall Bell, a non-annoying David Arquette & Chris Farley. Plus cameos by Judd Nelson, Harold Ramis, Kurt Loder, White Zombie, the voice of Mike Judge and Lemmy Himself. That’s a lot of funny right there.

The story goes like this. Chazz (Fraser) and brothers Rex (Buscemi) and Pip (Sandler) are a band called the Lone Rangers who are in need of a recording contract. After Chazz fails to get a demo to a record producer, the three of them decide to go straight to a local radio station to get their music played on the air. Rex has brought along some realistic looking toy guns, and when the station staff, including disc-jockey Ian the Shark (Mantegna) and slimy manager Milo (McKean), see them they assume the boys are taking them hostage. The Rangers run with it, demanding their music be played on the air. Their demo is destroyed though, and now the band must wait for a back-up to be delivered, as both police, led by Sergeant O’Malley (Hudson) and assisted by Officer Wilson (Farley), the media, and tons of rock & roll fans camp out outside the station. Can the Rangers succeed in pulling it off without going to jail, or will an over-eager SWAT leader (Bell) gun them down first?

That’s the general premise, but it doesn’t get across a lot of the comedy. There’s some great gags, and lots of things that stick in my mind. The boys’ list of weird demands, so if they’re caught they can plead insanity, like nude pictures of Bea Arthur and 67 copies of Moby Dick. (”The movie or the book?” “They made a book out of that?”) Farley’s scene in a club where he deals with a rude mosher in a very painful way. (”Improvise.”) Michael Richard’s slapstick as a station employee interviewee hiding in the ventilation system. The camaraderie on-screen between Fraser, Buscemi & Sandler. (Who’d've thought in ‘94 that of everyone in this flick, Sandler would have the most bankable career?) The chemistry between the snarky Mantegna and the ever-sleazy McKean. And here’s a fun tidbit. I always though secretary Suzzi (played by Nina Siemaszko) was hot, and now I’ve seen her nekkid, courtesy of a softcore Skinemax TV show, in a love scene with Matt LeBlanc no less. Thanks Internet!

When you have time, I encourage you to seek out Airheads. I personally give if 4 out of 5 giant baby bottles.