I know everyone is getting ready for the “Top Gun Maverick” reviews. They’re coming tomorrow morning at 9am.
In the meantime, I can tell Lady Gaga fans that you will have to wait through the whole movie for the hit song, “Hold My Hand.” It’s worth it. Despite a source telling me a few weeks ago that the song “comes too late” in the movie, it’s actually right on time. The placement will put a lump in your throat. It also guarantees an Oscar nomination next year for Gaga, if not a win.
The production has said that neither Kelly McGillis nor Meg Ryan, who were in the original movie, were invited back. But you will see nostalgic clips from the first “Top Gun” of Ryan as Carole, from 1986. Ryan had just had her breakthough on “As the World Turns.” By the time “Top Gun” hit, she was off to the races. “Sleepless in Seattle” came in 1989.
McGillis’s Charlie isn’t mentioned, or thought about. There are no clips of her. McGillis went on to big hits with “Witness” and “The Accused,” and worked steadily through the 1990s and 2000s. Over time, she’s slowed down her career. But her role in the first “Top Gun” remains iconic.
