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In Michael Lehemann’s 1994 comedy “Airheads,” Brendan Fraser plays Chazz Darby, the guitarist and lead singer of the struggling local heavy metal band The Lone Rangers. His bandmates are Rex (Steve Buscemi) and Pip (Adam Sandler), and they are all increasingly frustrated with the Los Angeles music scene. No one offers them a concert and they simply can’t organize their Big Break. Indeed, they’ve been stuck in a rut for so long that Chazz’s girlfriend, Kayla (Amy Locane), kicked him out of their apartment.
As a last resort, the Lone Rangers go to a local radio station with their demo tape, hoping to beg the DJ (Joe Mantegna) and station manager (Michael McKean) to play it. Neither man is impressed with the Lone Rangers, however, forcing them to take drastic action. They then take weapons out of their bags and take the radio hostage. They’ll get their Big Break, even if they have to threaten gunfire. Of course, the Lone Rangers are actually gentle, nice guys at heart, so their weapons are really just water guns filled with hot sauce. They won’t be able to harm anyone, but they can certainly distract some attackers by injecting them into the eyeballs. Naturally, there are other complications to the plot. The tape they bring is destroyed and Chazz has to call his old girlfriend and ask for a demo tape he once gave her. Meanwhile, the police gather outside.
If you have a few dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you can mail order DVDs and VHS tapes of “Airheads” from Amazon. Unfortunately, this will be the only way to see “Airheads,” as the film is not currently available to stream or rent on any service.
Airheads is a who’s who of stars and comedians
Although “Airheads” is a great comedy from the mid-1990s, its cast is loaded with talent. In addition to giant actors like Fraser, Buscemi, Sandler, Mantegna, and McKean, the cast also includes some of the most well-known comedic actors of the era. The late Chris Farley plays one of the cops outside the station, and he has a particularly painful scene in which he rips off a punk’s nipple ring. The radio employees are also recognizable. The station’s accountant is played by Michael Richards, right in the middle of his award-winning show on “Seinfeld,” and David Arquette has a small role as a random radio man. Elsewhere, Judd Nelson plays a mischievous music executive and the legendary Harold Ramis plays an undercover cop. Likewise, the cop in charge of the hostage situation is played by Ernie Hudson.
There are also many cameos. Mike Judge voices his famous characters Beavis and Butt-Head, who call the radio station, meaning “Airheads” technically takes place in the same universe as the TV series “Beavis and Butt-Head.” The band White Zombie even appears in a bar scene, while Kurt Loder plays himself in one scene and Motörhead’s Lemmy plays the role of a school magazine editor.
The general consensus on “Airheads” seems to be a prevalent cast of Gen Xers repeating “Oh yeah, I liked it when I saw it on cable.” It’s a very popular film, even though it was a box office bomb. (It only grossed $5 million in theaters against a $15 million budget.) It’s affable, funny and enjoyable. “Airheads”, however, was not liked by critics, and many felt that its satire of the music industry could have been much more scathing; it was too fanciful for its own good.
The Airheads soundtrack is awesome
The film did, however, have an impressive soundtrack, and its soundtrack sales may have offset some of the film’s financial losses. It features Lemmy, of course, as well as a cover of Van Halen’s “I’m the One” by 4 Non Blondes. Many notable 90s bands also appear, including Primus, Candlebox, Prong, Dig, and Stick. The Lone Rangers’ own song – “Degenerated” – also appears on the album. It’s an engaging album of era-appropriate alternative rock tracks and real headbangers. White Zombie’s “Feed the Gods” is also there, naturally.
The setting is just as fun. “Airheads” was filmed at Fox Plaza in Los Angeles, which served as the Nakatomi Plaza building in “Die Hard.”
But it’s not online. Amazon said the rights had expired. The film was distributed by Fox, which means the ball is now in Disney’s court. Unfortunately, because the film was so violent and because it was critically panned, Disney doesn’t seem to have had any incentive to go the extra mile to put “Airheads” on Hulu or Disney+. Recall that the film was on the worst lists in late 1994, so there doesn’t seem to be much demand.
But maybe we could sell it on star power alone. Fraser is now an Oscar winner for his work on “The Whale,” Buscemi has won Emmys, and Sandler remains one of cinema’s highest-grossing stars (in addition to being Emmy and Grammy nominated). Sandler is also one of the most nominated actors in Razzie history, which is a dubious honor in itself. Meanwhile, Farley and Ramis are beloved stars, and Mantegna and McKean’s performances are still worth appreciating. Come on, Disney. Let’s see that.
