
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 6, 1994                   TAG: 9408090025
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`AIRHEADS': THE NAME FITS

``Airheads'' certainly has its moments. Following in the shallow footprints of Bill and Ted and Wayne and Garth, it's a rock 'n' roll comedy that's occasionally as rude and irreverent as its subject matter.

At other times - most other times - it's a slow parody that revolves around three sub-geniuses trying to break into the L.A. music business. Almost all of the humor comes from their plantlike stupidity, and it wears thin about halfway through.

Chazz (Brendan Fraser), Rex (Steve Muscemi) and Pip (Adam Sandler) are The Lone Rangers. The contradiction in the group's name is only the first of many mysteries that are far beyond their grasp. Nobody wants to listen to them, either. When Chazz infiltrates a record company and corners executive Jimmy Wing (Judd Nelson), he's thrown out. Then his girlfriend Kayla (Amy Locane) does the same thing.

Before long, the hapless trio decides to try their luck at a local radio station. When D.J. Ian the Shark (Joe Mantegna) and manager Milo (Michael McKean) object, the guys pull out Uzis. Actually, their weapons are realistic squirt guns filled with pepper water, but no one knows that. A bizarre variation on ``Dog Day Afternoon'' ensues when the cops, led by Ernie Hudson and Chris Farley, surround the station.

Given its tenuous premise, Rich Wilke's script manages to avoid most cliches and seems to be fairly accurate in its portrayal of the music business. It also contains a nice take-off on ``Die Hard'' with another station executive (Michael Richards) scurrying about in the ductwork.

Overall, director Michael Lehmann comes closer to the satiric tone he hit in ``Heathers'' than the ridiculous excesses of his mega-flop ``Hudson Hawk.'' He gets considerable help from a cast of good professional character actors. Still, the film would be better if the leads had a more defiant antiestablishment attitude. But that would have required real wit and intelligence, qualities conspicuously absent in these ``Airheads.''

Since the film really isn't very ambitious, it's pointless to be too critical. Like so many mid-level studio projects, it will have a brief theatrical run, but most of the target audience will see ``Airheads'' on videotape.

Airheads

A 20th Century Fox release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 96 min. Rated PG-13 for rough language, mild sexual content and violence.

by CNB