History Film / Airheads

* FaceOfTheBand: In-universe. Chazz is this for the Lone Rangers.

** Doug Beech. The man is pummeled, goes through severely painful pratfalls, is set on fire, and is humiliated by everything and everybody from the word "go" ([[WhatHappenedToTheMouse He doesn't appears again after getting the MP-5 taken from him]], but it's easy to assume he was [[OffscreenInertia still stuck in the air vents]] by the time the TimeSkip happened).

** [[Music/RobZombie White Zombie]] performed their song, "Feed the Gods", in the "Whiskey-A-Go-Go" concert scene.

** The giant baby bottle, asked of as part of the crazy demands, is used to subdue armed accountant Doug Beech.

** Milo wants to change Rebel Radio into an easy-listening station and doesn't even bothers to give any advanced warning that he will do this--which will mean firing a lot of people, including the [=DJs=] and the secretary he's having sex with ''because'' she wants to keep her job.
** Jimmy Wing is a record executive jackass that enforces irritating control over his talent like lip-synching during concerts, talks mostly in BlatantLies, and only cares about singers in terms of how much money he can squeeze out of them before he burns them out and not their actual talent.

-->'''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.

* FictionalCounterpart: [=KPPX=] 103.3 Rebel Radio was loosely based on the now-defunct Los Angeles radio station [=KNAC=] 105.5 (Pure Rock), which had a hard rock/heavy metal format, and even used "if it's too loud, you're too old" (which is said by Ian at one point) as a slogan. [=KNAC=] 105.5 went off the air six months after ''Airheads'' was released to theaters, being replaced by Spanish-language radio station [=KBUE=] (Que Buena).

* HateSink: Milo is an unlikable {{Yuppie}} who intends on laying off his entire staff and change the station's focus to easy-listening. From the moment he is introduced, he is made the ButtMonkey by the Lone Rangers, often punishing him in ironic ways whenever he tries to weasel out of the situation by selfish means.

* HeelFaceTurn: 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 [[spoiler:Milo is firing the staff and switching the station to Easy Listening]], he's completely in the band's corner. [[spoiler: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.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: As one point, Chazz chastises a caller for preferring {{Grunge}} over hard rock and HeavyMetal. Later though, the DJ claims that he prefers classic rock to hard rock, only for Chazz to tell him that there is more to hard rock than he realizes.

* InsanityDefense: 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 [[ChekhovsGun an oversized novelty baby bottle]].

* KnightTemplar: [=SWAT=] team leader Carl Mace.

** Doug Beech also has a striking resemblance to Groucho Marx in terms of hair style, moustache, glasses and suit. Although this may just be a co-incidence.

* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: A character drops an [=MP5K=], causing it to spin around on the floor and fire its entire magazine, all by itself. The entire [=MP5=] line is widely regarded as among the world's finest sub-machine guns, in use by numerous special forces, and they typically cost in the low five-digits.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: 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 [[spoiler: the contract is contingent on lip-syncing in public.]] They proceed to smash up the place and incite a riot.

-->'''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...

-->'''Thug''': (''rips off Wilson's badge and crushes it'') Now whaddya gonna do about that? (''starts laughing'')
-->'''Wilson''': (''rips off the thug's nipple ring'') '''''Improvise.'''''

->"''Do you know what it's like to be on the bill and play for 15 minutes, and have nobody there to see you except for the other bands and their girlfriends? Don't talk to me about rock and roll! I'm out there in the clubs and on the streets living it, [[BadassBoast I AM ROCK AND ROLL!]]"''

** Milo freaks out when he walks in on [[spoiler:Pip and Suzzi having sex on his expensive leather couch]].

* AluminumChristmasTrees: One on The Lone Rangers' demands include "naked pictures of Creator/BeaArthur"; artist John Currin [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/bea-arthur-naked-john-currin-painting-auction_n_3274750.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 painted a topless picture of her in 1991]].

* YokoOhNo: Rex dismissively calls Kayla "Yoko" after she criticizes him.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Carl Mace, the [=SWAT=] commander, sounds like an action hero.

* HandOrObjectUnderwear: Pip uses his cap when he and Suzzi are caught making out.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: The Lone Rangers describe their particular genre of rock as "power slop" (but with an edge).

''Airheads'' was the first feature film for both Creator/AdamSandler and Creator/SteveBuscemi

* FictionalCounterpart: [=KPPX=] 103.3 Rebel Radio appears to be based on the now-defunct Los Angeles radio station [=KNAC=] 105.5, which had a hard rock/heavy metal format, and even used "if it's too loud, you're too old" (which is said by Ian at one point) as a slogan.

[[quoteright:207:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/airheads_6940.jpg]]

->"''...do you know what its like to be on the bill and play for 15 minutes, and have nobody there to see you except for the other bands and their girlfriends? Don't talk to me about rock and roll! I'm out there in the clubs and on the streets living it, [[BadassBoast I AM ROCK AND ROLL!]]"''

* [[TheCameo Cameos]]:

** Creator/HaroldRamis 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: Music/VanHalen or Roth?" [[spoiler: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.]]
*** Even better, he invokes ExecutiveMeddling when referencing Van Hagar and it ALMOST works, since a record executive WOULD have that perspective ("They sold a lot of records after Roth left!").

* BetaCouple: Pip and Suzzi.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Wilson is a pretty calm guy, but there are limits.

* [[EmbarrassingFirstName Embarrassing Whole Name]]: Chester Ogilvie, alias "Chazz Darvey".

* HostageSituation
** Hilariously enough, though, they aren't using real guns until about ten minutes before the whole thing breaks down.

* {{Metalhead}}: Too many to count in this movie.

* OldShame: [invoked] 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.

-->'''Milo:''' All right, I know you guys think I'm a real dick . . . cheese . . . burger, or whatever.

* StarvingArtist: The Lone Rangers. Pip works as a pool cleaner, Rex works in a toy store, and Chazz is unemployed and living off his girlfriend.

* TooMuchInformation: When the rocker played by John Melendez admits that he used to masturbate constantly, his two friends look grossed out and begin punching him on the arms.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: 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?
** Doug Beech [[spoiler:is never seen or heard from again after attempting and failing to subdue the Lone Rangers with the submachinegun given to him by the [=LAPD=] ]].

* WholePlotReference: The movie borrows some details from Film/DogDayAfternoon (like the crowd and the hostages coming to like the hostage-takers), [[spoiler:although thankfully this story ends in a happier note for the takers]].

* {{Hypocrite}}: As one point, Chazz chastises a caller for preferring {{Grudge}} over hard rock and HeavyMetal. Later though, the DJ claims that he prefers classic rock to hard rock, only for Chazz to tell him that there is more to hard rock than he realizes.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Milo is an unlikable {{Yuppie}} who intends on laying off his entire staff and change the station's focus to easy-listening. From the moment he is introduced, he is made the ButtMonkey by the Lone Rangers, often punishing him in ironic ways whenever he tries to weasel out of the situation by selfish means.

** Jimmy Wing is (a record executive jackass that enforces irritating control over his talent like lip-synching during concerts, talks mostly in BlatantLies, and only cares about singers in terms of how much money he can squeeze out of them before he burns them out and not their actual talent.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Milo (that wants to change Rebel Radio into an easy-listening station and doesn't even bothers to give any advanced warning that he will do this--which will mean firing a lot of people, including the [=DJs=] and the secretary he's having sex with ''because'' she wants to keep her job) and Jimmy Wing (a record executive jackass that enforces irritating control over his talent like lip-synching during concerts, talks mostly in BlatantLies, and only cares about singers in terms of how much money he can squeeze out of them before he burns them out and not their actual talent).

->"''..do you know what its like to be on the bill and play for 15 minutes, and have nobody there to see you except for the other bands and their girlfriends? Don't talk to me about rock and roll! I'm out there in the clubs and on the streets living it, [[BadassBoast I AM ROCK AND ROLL!]]"''

[[quoteright:207:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/airheads_6940.jpg]]

** One of the deliberately weird demands that the Lone Rangers make to the police is for "naked pictures of Creator/BeaArthur!" Much later in the film, when Jimmie Wing comes to the radio station, he passes a couple of people staring in combined awe and bafflement at some pictures that we can't see. Jimmie peers at them and says "Bea Arthur? [[GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave Outstanding!]]"

* YokoOhNo: InUniverse, Rex dismissively calls Kayla "Yoko" after she criticizes him.

* ClosetGeek: Chazz was a raging dork back in school. His public admission, followed by the crowd's acceptance, is a [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments touching moment.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Or rather, the poster, which reveals that the guys get arrested and go to jail.

A 1994 comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann (''Film/{{Heathers}}'') and starring Creator/BrendanFraser, Creator/SteveBuscemi, and Creator/AdamSandler 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.