We lost one of our legendary screen stars earlier this year, so now we’re passing through the gates of VAL-halla to celebrate some of his most notable films. That’s right, this is the first in an occasional series of double features focused on the work of none other than the elusive, enigmatic Val Kilmer. To kick things off, Paul, Arlo, and Eric are going back to the very beginning. Kilmer got his big screen start in a Zucker-Abraham-Zucker laff riot, 1984’s Top Secret!; with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that Val wasn’t a good fit for the ZAZ machine, and the gang tells us why. Faring much better is Martha Coolidge’s 1985 cult college classic Real Genius, which avoids the pitfalls of the era’s other slobs v. snobs comedies with real heart and–of course–a terrific lead performance from Kilmer. Where are he (and we) going next? Stay tuned! Plus, Eric sings the praises of synthpop artist Lights’ new album A6.

 

NEXT: Four-Color Flashback gets mice-eval on your heinie with David Petersen’s rodent epic Mouse Guard.

 

 

BREAKDOWN

00:00:27  -  Intro / Banter

00:21:06  -  Top Secret!

00:55:36  -  Real Genius

01:55:42  -  Outro / Next

 

LINKS

• Eric’s review of A6 by Lights

• Top Secret!’s ridiculous bookstore scene backwards AND forwards

• The Behind-the-Scenes Story of Real Genius by Ashley Burns and Chloe Schildhause, Uproxx

• The Real Real Genius by Phyllis Rostykus, Slate

• Astrophysicist Michael Siegel discusses The Real Genius of Real Genius

 

MUSIC

• “Val Kilmer” by Bowling For Soup, The Great Burrito Extortion Case (2006)

• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair (1984)