Mario works in a Milan bank. His daily routine is shattered when he witnesses a murder committed by a deranged police commissioner. To save his life, he flees to Puerto Escondido, Mexico. When he runs out of money he teams up with Alex and Anita, a couple of Italians that will lead him on to a series of adventures and encounters with drug dealers, corrupt police officers and other weird characters.

The gang that created Airplane! and The Naked Gun sets its sights on Top Gun in this spoof. Topper Harley is a talented but unstable fighter pilot with an axe to grind: clearing the family name. His mission is to avenge his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers. He also gets involved in a relationship with Ramada Thompson, a woman with an unusually talented stomach. Hot Shots! makes fun of a variety of other films, from Dances with Wolves to The Fabulous Baker Boys.