Airheads (1994) User Reviews

It's just a good movie.

[DanielWRichardson · 7/10 · 17 July 2004]

I'd like to start off by saying that most people who submit comments or reviews should not take this movie so seriously. It's not Schindler's List or Chicago. I'm pretty sure when the film makers made this they wasn't trying to win an Oscar or anything. They was just trying to make a funny movie and they succeeded. This is a hilarious movie. It's one of those movies that if I'm flipping though the channels and I catch this on, I have to watch it. I heard when it came out that it bombed. I don't see how (What do critics know?). If you're one of those people who take their comedies too seriously, go read Dickens. But if you want to see a funny movie, rent this. Everyone in this is good. The plot is good. The acting is good. It's just a good movie.

Airheads is an hilarious movie.

[dobbin-4 · 7/10 · 13 December 2007]

Adam Sandler, Brendon Frazer and Steve Buscemi star in this hilarious comedy that proves that movies that take risks pay off. The film is about 3 not so smart striving rock stars who after they get blown off on a radio show with an obnoxious boss and stuck up radio leader. Well from then they end up holding up the place and there leads to an hilarious movie. This movie is a very funny one Adam Sandler did very well in not to say the other 2 main character did not as even the cameos and co stars did a good job in this film. Overall the movie is extremely funny and I think is the funniest Adam Sandler movie that he does not star outrightly in. I rate this movie a fair 73% for keeping me laughing the whole way

One of the Great 1990s Comedies

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 7 July 2013]

Three band members hoping for a big break head to a radio station to play their demo tape and wind up holding everyone hostage with plastic guns when the head DJ is unable to play them.

To say this film is a good one from a critical standpoint is a lie, as it is pretty bad in a multitude of ways. But as far as 1990s comedies go, or films connected to "Saturday Night Live" (this one very loosely), this ranks up there in entertainment value.

If nothing else, the cast sells this -- David Arquette and Michael Richards before their prime. Adam Sandler at his peak. Brendan Fraser in a transition from Pauly Shore to "real" films... and Steve Buscemi? This is just loaded with talent.

The music will not appeal to everyone. Even as a fan of metal, I have to say a lot of the music is not as top-notch as it probably should be.

Not given enough credit

[insanitytrain · 18 January 2002]

This is a great movie that simply doesn't get alot of credit. An amatuer band known as the Lone Rangers (Fraser, Buscemi, Sandler) sneak into a recording studio to have their demo tape played on the air. When refused, things get out of hand and they hold the place hostage.

This movie has an original plot line with good humour and good acting. Keep in mind that this movie comes very early on in the careers of all three title characters. Personally I find the calibre of acting that Fraser and Sandler have in this movie better than some that came afterwards.

When you start watching this movie, you'll want to finish it. Perfect example, my room mate who came in the room looking for something ended up staying for the whole movie.

Give this baby a chance. If you don't like it, you've lost the price of a rental.

Really good comedy

[masonsaul · 7/10 · 29 October 2020]

Airheads is a really good comedy that overcomes it overall lack of really funny moments and a few overly slapstick characters with its extremely entertaining nature. Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi are all great. Ernie Hudson and Joe Mantegna are both really good. Michael Lehmann's direction is also great, it's extremely well filmed and well paced. The soundtrack is good.

Pretty funny

[dworldeater · 7/10 · 27 January 2019]

Airheads is a really goofy 90's comedy that is actually pretty funny. This is about a metal band that needs in an attempt to get their shot in the spotlight on their quest for rock'n roll domination they take a radio station hostage in an attempt for them to play their demo tape. The guys in the band are idiots, but likeable ones which makes this for a pretty easy viewing experience. The lead is played by the much underrated Brandon Fraser as Chaz, band leader and guitar player/singer and is rounded up with Steve Buscemi on bass and Adam Sandler on drums. The rest of the supporting cast is good with Michael McKean from Spinal Tap, Judd Nelson, Ernie Hudson, Lemmy from Motorhead and more. All and all, it a pretty solid comedy that is sometimes silly, but good light entertainment. Brandon Fraser in my opinion should have been a bigger star as he is a talented and charismatic actor that can carry a serious dramatic movie like School Ties and movies like this.

No Brains, No Headache

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 17 August 2020]

Get Farley and Sandler together in the 90's and you had comedy gold. This movie was dominated by Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Joe Mantegna but it had that 90's Sandler/Farley feel to it.

"Airheads" was about three aspiring rockers called The Lone Rangers who wanted to break into the music industry. If they could just get their music played on radio then they could be something. They came up with a hairbrained scheme to hold a radio station hostage with fake guns in order to get their song played. Things got out of hand once cops swarmed the place.

"Airheads" was enjoyable, even all these years later, though the Sandler-style humor doesn't have the same appeal to me as it once did.

Familiar faces

[lgoodman · 5/10 · 25 April 1999]

This movie wasn't something I set out to see, I just happened on it accidentally while channel surfing when I saw a whole bunch of familiar faces in strange outfits. Just for the eclectic cast, this movie was worth some of my time. Practically every face was familiar; these people also did movies that I'd seen before. It's not exactly a old classic, but it was moderately funny and had a lot of good actors who weren't exactly at their best, but who made the movie much more enjoyable. So for a funny, very light-hearted movie, with a lot of actors who will ring a bell, watch Airheads.

I ain't farting on no snare drum.

[13Funbags · 9/10 · 1 May 2017]

For years everyone told me that Brendan Fraser movies were bad and this movie proves they all lied.Weirdly,people always say that Adam Sandler movies are always great yet this is the only one that really is,and Sandler has a tiny part.This movie is just awesome.It's funny and has a great story with lots of cameos,Lemmy,Kramer,Stuttering John,Chris Farley and tons more.The one thing that doesn't really make sense is that it's a decade late and no one ever noticed.They are a very 1984 band in a 1994 movie.Hair metal was long dead by 1994,MTV was playing Rancid,not Winger.If you're into those terrible Sandler movies where he crams in all his friends and nothing funny ever happens,you might not like this movie but you will see why he keeps making work for Steve Buscemi.This is one of the best movies ever.

lives up to its title

[darkbeingborn · 1/10 · 25 August 2000]

"Airheads" is right up there with "Detroit Rock City" as one of those movies that's so unfunny it's painful to watch. There's something seriously wrong with the youth of today if they look to this for their inspiration. And what is Steve Buscemi doing in it?

This Movie Rocks!!!

[safeinsanity · 10/10 · 4 April 2004]

I have seen this many times and never grow tired of watching it. It seems the more I watch it, the funnier it gets. It is freaking hilarious!

I especially think that Steve Buscemi and Brendan Fraser are the funniest in this flick. I love the girl that played Chazz's girlfriend as well, the way she would beat the crap out of Chazz was too much!

I don't think that anybody that ever was in a Rock-Roll band could watch this movie without cracking up. I guess maybe you had to be there?

If you haven't seen this film I recommend that you rent it, or better yet buy a copy to add to your collection. This is a classic Rock-n-Roll comedy that you must see.

A great movie and a good watch...

[i_derbyshire · 7/10 · 15 May 2020]

This movie is really good, having only recently seen it in the year 2020 for the first time. It was good to see Brendan Fraser in a film I haven't seen before and would be great to see him come back to comedic roles in cinema.

I found this film as I recently watched Billy Madison, this one I frequently watch. I like to look at cast members of old movies to see where the cast is now and noticed Chris Farley died a few years later. I saw that Airheads had Adam, Brendan, Steve and Chris casted in Airheads and the plot looked quite humorous.

Indeed it was, a young Adam Sandler, although doesn't play a major part in the film, plays his part as you would expect and a great start to his long career.

If you are looking for something to watch that is entertaining and humorous, then you may want to give this title a look.

The Opposite of Funny

[driver_8 · 1/10 · 24 June 2004]

This might be one of the worst movies ever made. How do you amass such an assortment of talent and then turn out such a boring and lame film. Adam Sandler, wasted! Steve Buscemi, wasted! Michael Richards, wasted! And so on and so on. Perhaps the biggest problem with the film is in its casting of Branden Fraser as the lead of a "death metal" band. He just does not sell it at all. Joe Mantegna is beyond irritating, when I think, he was supposed to be the hero here. The music is poor and the story inane. This was just a really bad film. Which is sad, because the story and cast had potential. Hmmm, I need ten lines do I? Hard to find stuff worthy of talking about, when it comes to this film. Let me enter this again.

Hilarious

[billybrown41 · 29 December 2002]

Let's face it, if you go into a movie called "Airheads" expecting an intellegent, well-written, highbrow piece of cinematic art, then you deserve exactly what you get, so to everyone out there who gets off on trashing this movie, go rent "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and stop bit#$ng.

Now, if you want a good mindless way to blow a Friday evening, then look no further. You've come to the right place. Yeah, this movie is stupid beyond belief. It's also friggin' hilarious. Any movie that has Steve Buscemi as a long-haired, foul-mouthed bass player, and Ernie Hudson in general, I'm going to love. For me, Buscemi was the highlight and I loved everyone of his pseudo tough-guy lines like "Hey pal, you wanna try gettin' physical with me?"-Hilarious. Speaking of Buscemi, this one has a GREAT cast with Brenden Fraser as the leading man (Chaz), Adam Sandler as the pool cleaning drummer (Pip) and also features Joe Mantgena, Michael McKean, Chris Farley, David Arquette, and a whole slew of others, even Michael Richards.

The soundtrack rocks and the laughs come so often (very dumb laughs) that it's impossible to keep count.

Enjoy.

The Music! All About The Music!!!

[CrassActionHero · 7/10 · 3 February 2007]

Airheads (1994)

Review: Airheads is a good movie. This is a comedy but the movie's strength is through the music and knowledge of the music as well.

The casting is fine. Brendan Fraser is pretty good as Chazz. Steve Buscemi is awesome as Rex. Adam Sandler on the other hand felt awkward here. While Fraser and Buscemi seemed to enjoy there roles, Sandler felt off key. He was not bad, just unbalanced if you will.

However the plot is fine. Three frustrated musicians hold a radio station hostage to finally play their demo. The demo gets fried and all hell breaks loose. Their is some nice humor here and some fine acting. We get other nice appearances by Mike McKean and Judd Nelson as well.

What works is the gathering of all the metal-heads outside the station in unified glory to the freedom of true radio. Run by people like them. I also liked the band stickers inside the band's van. All sorts of true underground metal bands to be noticed on the wall of that van! The knowledge of metal is well put. I LOVED it when Chazz insulted the Seattle grunge scene! (As he called it, Seattle bull s**t) Wonderful. This movie knows that all rock music is not the same thing!

The movie is filled with great music and some nice comedy to boot. An appearance by White Zombie was also excellent too. Be sure to check out a cameo by none other than Lemmy! If you are metal, you know who i'm talking about!

The Last Word: Killer music! All metal-heads unite! This is the movie that takes metal more seriously. Fun times. Airheads rocks!

I'm On A Band Kick...

[allenmister65 · 5/10 · 12 September 2012]

I saw this flick in the theaters way back (1994). I'm a band guy, not professionally, but it eats up a lot of my time as a hobby and every so often I like to revisit some movies having to do with music. On a positive note, I still love the music and the amount of rocker cameos and a huge cast of "Oh HEY...isn't that...?" to be found in Airheads. But on a second viewing via Netflix, the negatives kind of balance out the positives and I give this movie a solid 5. The story left me frustrated and the comedy was eh. This movie could have been so much more. It could have been a classic, instead...it's kinda embarrassing. Stick to swinging in the trees Brendon.

Hysterical!

[stephie-12 · 9/10 · 31 January 2004]

This film is one of the funniest ever. Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser and Steve Buscemi are three incredibly dense would-be rock stars who break into a radio station with a water pistol to get their tape played and try to obtain a record deal. the stunt causes a lot of media attention, and cheering crowds gather outside the station. This is not an intellectual film, but it is very funny with all three of the main cast playing very different characters. Brendan Fraser is honourable, Adam Sandler is so dumb he attracts women who feel a bit sorry for him and Steve Buscemi is his older brother who brandishes the gun. If you want an hour and a half of pure light entertainment, watch this!

The ultimate rebel movie

[TheEtherWalk · 7/10 · 1 February 2003]

I just watched this movie once today, and it's already one of my favorites. The cast is a who's who of comedians, including Adam Sandler, Steve Buscemi, Brendan Fraser, Joe Pantoliano (Fat Tony from Simpsons), Chris Farley and Michael Richards.

The plot is basically about a band who hijacks a radio station, but it is more about the fight against The Man. Anyone who remembers either the 80s or their rebellious teenage years will love it. Of course, there is the gratuitous sex scene a la Wayne's World, the massively violent scene where a room is sprayed with bullets, and some pretty cool stuff with the band. Although the 'roll' may be gone, 'rock' lives on. Very, very cool movie. Highly recommended for fans of modern rock.

Pure, derrivate, bullsh*t. A mockery of a film.

[oobtothewab · 1/10 · 31 May 2002]

Although it contains hilarious performances from Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Michael Richards and Michael McKean, AIRHEADS is a failure as a film. Loosely based on DOG DAY AFTERNOON (in the sense that the entire "hostage situation" story is adapted from that film) the movie fails to capture the raw emotion and desperation of Sidney Lument's masterpiece, which is an understatement because it is a juvenile slapstick comedy. The opening sequences depict a day in the life of a fledgling musician (in the opening scenes Brendan Fraser's character is tossed out of a record company's offices and booted out by his girlfriend while maintain the "musician's" lifestyle at all times, despite not having anything to show for it.) Then out of nowhere the trio finds themselves in a hostage situation, holding up a radio station with plastic water pistols. Instead of wanting a sex-change operation like Sonny wanted in DOG DAY AFTERNOON, the band wants their demo played on the air. The only difference is they get their wish and the films ends with a live Lone Rangers (their oxymoron moniker) concert from prison, where Steve Buscemi is oggled by sexually confused prison inmates as he thrusts his bass (another nod to DOG DAY, but in poor taste.) While the film attempts to mock Lument's film, it ends up praising it, and mocking rock music. Even the soundtrack is full of bad songs from washed up 70s metal and punk bands (as there seems to be no distinction among the two in this film,) and the rockers are portrayed as idiots. From the sheep like crowds which form outside the station to the idiotic SONS OF THUNDER act who seem to be the Lone Rangers' role models and inspirations for their hostage-taking. It mocks itself through its failed efforts to mock others.

Never gets old

[blacklaetherglove · 10/10 · 21 February 2006]

This is one of the great ones, you know? Every single thing is great about this movie. The actors are great, the costumes are great, the sets are believable, the plot owns, the script has a nice flow. This goes great with "Empire Records." I liked that, and I love this. Brendon Fraser is the ultra-mega-hot lead guitarist/singer of this awesome band, the Lone Rangers. He has a crappy apartment, I don't think he has a job, and his girlfriend is mad at him for trying to make his band work instead of growing up. She iss a Heather Locklear-style 90s bitch, and so works so well as that. The jokes keep going thru-out, and are actually funny, even after repeated viewings. I love the fake plastic water pisols ak47s filled with hot sauce. That was great! I highly recommend this movie is you want to watch a good movie, not something you will have to work up to sitting thru.

My God...

[Macbeth007 · 1/10 · 5 September 1999]

This is quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. The "jokes" are absolutely pathetic, the plot is predictable and the acting, well what the hell? All the players in this movie have gone on to better things (thank God), but this film must be an unsightly smudge on their resume.

The only reason I would recommend you see this film would be for when someone asks you what's the worst movie you've ever seen. It is incredibly awful.

One of the funniest comedy ever

[hucklejarod · 7/10 · 10 February 2022]

I saw this movie when I was a teenager and it's a good movie Brendan Fraser is a good actor his movies are good and some are ok . But there a lot that are good like this one I watch this like six or seven times it's so good . And Adam sandler is in it too so if you are looking for a comedy movie you should watch this it's funny .

a fairly descent movie

[swartsjason · 6/10 · 12 January 2007]

this is an exceptionally funny movie, it has great characters in it like Brendon Frasier, Chris Farley, R.i.P., and Adam Sander its just a funny movie. i like the fact that nobody could figure out the the guns the three guys had fake guns. you might think after a while one of the guys might be able to touch the gun and figure out that it isn't a real gun. and another point i would like to make, i cant really picture Bredon Frasier, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscheme as rock stars. i also cant picture Chris Farley as a cop. he is a great actor and great comedian, but he might be just a little to big for the cop suit he is put in for the movie.