A 1994 comedy film starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler as 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 refuses to play them.While the film bombed at the box office and was received poorly by critics, a lot of people have seen it due to the fact that it was played heavily on Comedy Central during the mid-1990s. The film has since become something of a cult classic among metalheads due to its numerous references to hard rock and heavy metal as well as featuring cameos from a few famous rock musicians (most notably Lemmy).
Harold Ramis shows up as a record executive trying to get into the seized radio station. He gets asked the immortal question "Whose side did you take: Van Halen or Roth?" He goes with Van Halen, and the band immediately tags him as a cop... which proves correct when he's seen later wearing a badge and carrying a sidearm.
Kurt Loder appears as himself, reporting on the hostage crisis, and also wondering how one pluralizes "The Lone Ranger".
The giant baby bottle, asked of as part of the crazy demands, is used to subdue armed accountant Doug Beech.
Rex likes to fill his squirt guns with tabasco, in case some "Hollywood Boulevard trash" messes with him. This comes up later, when Chazz needs to season a burrito and Milo gets uppity.
During their ingress into the building, the guys take advantage of the fact that the steel exterior doors have automatic closers. This bites them in the ass when the front door later automatically closes on one of their fake guns with enough force to crush it.
Closet Geek: Chazz was a raging dork back in school. His public admission, followed by the crowd's acceptance, is a touching moment.
Chazz: Who'd win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?
Chris Moore: Lemmy.
Rex: (makes a game-show "wrong" noise)
Chris: God!
Rex: Wrong, dickhead. Trick question—Lemmy is God.
Critical Dissonance: In-Universe, when Milo puts down Chazz' tastes in bands, asking "If they're so hot, how come they're not tearing up the charts, babe?", to which Rex replies "Because you never play them, babe. You suck.".
Delivery Guy Infiltration: Chazz tries to sneak into Palatine Records this way in the beginning to try and show his demo tape to the executives. Judging by the reactions of the security guards and a secretary, this isn't the first time he's done this.
Die Hard on an X: It's Die Hard, in a radio station, as a comedy! Bonus points for the station being located next to Nakatomi Plaza.
Fascinating Eyebrow: Chazz delivers one as Jimmy Wing delivers a speech about how rock stars don't get full sentences, such as how "Vince Neil only got 30 days, and he killed somebody."
Genius Ditz: Though routinely slammed as a moron by his friends, Pip is the first person they turn to when they suddenly need an electrical engineer.
Heel Face Turn: The aging DJ Ian, played by Joe Mantegna, is at first none too thrilled to being taken hostage. But as he talks with Chazz about rock music, it re-ignites his passion for rock music, he bonds with the band and starts to give them advice on how to proceed. By the time Ian finds out Milo is firing the staff and switching the station to Easy Listening, he's completely in the band's corner. And at the end of the film, it appears that he's no longer a radio DJ and is instead working as The Lone Rangers' manager/agent.
Hilariously enough, though, they aren't using real guns until about ten minutes before the whole thing breaks down.
I Am the Noun: "Do you know what it's like to be on the bill and to play for 15 minutes and the only people there to see you are the other bands and their girlfriends? Don't talk to me about Rock 'n' Roll! I'm out there in the clubs and on the streets and I'm living it! IAMROCK 'N' ROLL!"
Insanity Defense: Invoked by Pip, who suggests they come of a list of bizarre demands to help establish an insanity plea later. The list includes a football helmet full of cottage cheese, naked pictures of Bea Arthur (age unspecified), a sweet guitar and an oversized novelty baby bottle.
Jurisdiction Friction: The disagreements between Sgt. O'Malley and SWAT leader Carl Mace causes many problems, as Mace tries to undermine O'Malley's negotiations by trying to take down Chazz.
The Masochism Tango: Chazz and Kayla are constantly fighting, despite the fact that they love each other.
My Little Panzer: The toy guns are stated to have been recalled because they looked too realistic, and Rex managed to grab a couple before they got removed from his toy store.
Oh Crap: During a bit of showboating, Rex gets careless and the barrel of his plastic Uzi gets smashed in a door, in full view of the hostages. His face is priceless.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Rex, the bass player for the Lone Rangers, is based on Rex Brown, the bass player for Pantera: They share a name, they play the same instrument, and they even have similar hairstyles and goatees.
Ian: (looking at the demo tape's box) The Lone Rangers? That's original. How can you pluralize "The Lone Ranger"?
Chazz: What's wrong with that?
Ian: Well, there's three of you. You're not exactly lone. Shouldn't you be The Three Rangers?
Old Shame: Chazz is forced by the SWAT leader to reveal to that he was a high school dork. Instead of losing the metal crowd that had gathered, however, his confession spurs people in the crowd to their embarrassing secrets of geekery. By the end, the crowd is even more supportive of the Lone Rangers' hostage-taking.
Praising Shows You Don't Watch: Happens In-Universe, when Jimmy Wing is praising Chazz's song even though he hadn't listened to it. This is what drives Chazz to break out of their newly signed contract.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: In spite of all the effort he went through to get a record contract, when Chazz learns that Jimmy Wing is signing them without hearing their music he promptly wipes his ass with the contract. Later, the entire band gets one after Wing talks Chazz into the contract when they learn that the contract is contingent on lip-syncing in public. They proceed to smash up the place and incite a riot.
Sexy Secretary: Implied to be Kayla's day job. Suzzi, however, is a clear example.
Wilson: (walking next to a line of blondes in tight black clothing waiting to get into a club) "Blonde wearing something tight and black". Great. Grand. Wonderful...
Take That: In one scene Chazz, who is a fan of hard rock and Heavy Metal music, chastises a caller by telling him "I can't believe you like that Seattle bullshit." Airheads was released during the peak of Grunge's popularity.
Technology Marches On: Chazz and his band might not have gotten in as much trouble if they had their demo on an iPod or available online. Also, if Kayla had a cell phone, Chazz might have gotten through to her sooner, and might not have needed the LAPD to scour the LA strip to find her.
The Lone Rangers could have promoted their music through social media websites, eliminating the need for them to sneak into a radio station.
Took a Level in Badass: After a pep talk from Sgt. O'Mally, Wilson goes from meekly taking the verbal abuse of the gathered crowd to ripping the nipple ring off a thug who defaces his badge.
Thug: (rips off Wilson's badge and crushes it) Whatcha gonna do, pig?
Wilson: (rips off the thug's nipple ring) Improvise.
Trailers Always Spoil: Or rather, the poster, which reveals that the guys get arrested and go to jail.
Trust Password: As part of a quiz to determine if a supposed record executive is legit, Chazz asks "Whose side did you take in the Van Halen / Roth split? Van Halen or Roth?", the right answer being Roth. After he incorrectly answers, Chazz gives him one more chance, asking "Who would win a wrestling match: Lemmy or God?", the right answer being "Trick question. Lemmy IS God.".
Unfortunate Implications: In-Universe, while playing at their live performance in prison, Rex thrusts his pelvis in the direction of some black prisoners until Pip points it out. Also a Brick Joke, from Pip's conversation with Yvonne about racism.
In addition, we have see classic 90s toys like Stretch Armstrong, and someone prominently playing a Game Gear (with SFX from a real GG game).
Urine Trouble: A dog pees on a cassette in one scene.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Yvonne wasn't there when it was revealed that everyone at the station was getting laid off, so how is she gonna take the news?
"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: A postscript at the end of the movie reveals that the Lone Rangers were only incarcerated for 3 months, and their album Live in Prison went triple platinum.
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