Air America

Air America
By Peter John Gardner

Remember a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away when Mel Gibson was known more as a likeable guy that women adored? You know, back when we knew him as Martin Riggs and Mad Max? He was a guy's guy, the type of guy that other guys can respect and would have a beer with even though women drool over him constantly. That pretty much died when the world heard what kinds of things the guy says when he's drunk. Now he's almost in Tom Cruise territory. The guy still looks good and is a competent actor, but his religious views and erratic behavior rotated the public's opinion of him.

Watching Air America, it brought me back to that time when Mel Gibson was cool. His wiseass sense of humor meshes well with Downey's natural eccentricities. I'm sure I would've enjoyed this movie a lot more if I hadn't watched numerous other Vietnam era movies for this project and Project Stallone. If "All Along the Watchtower" was in this movie, I would've lost it completely.

Yes, this is another Vietnam era movie in Downey's filmography. He plays Billy, an ace helicopter pilot that is recruited by the US government after he is fired from his job as a traffic reporter for the local news. Quick note: his actions that cost him his job are hilarious, and I desperately wish someone would do that in real life. Anywho, the government wants him to be part of a super secret team of pilots that drop supplies over Laos, and he's teamed up with Gene Ryack (Mel). Turns out that all the pilots involved have their own little black market gigs, and Billy quickly realizes that these are some sketchy folks. Eventually, Billy and Gene find out they are actually patsies for a heroin smuggling operation. According to Wikipedia, the plot of this film is based on a true story and comes from a book of the same name by Christopher Robbins.

The operation's motto is "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime", and they technically don't exist as far as the public is concerned. Now I could make a point about how important it is to know what is going on behind the scenes with your employer and not just blindly follow orders, but with an economy and job market that's shrinking faster than a penis in a cold shower, it's better to just hold on to what you have. As for me, I'm signing up for helicopter lessons so that one day I can be a traffic reporter.