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Getty Images; Men's Health Illustration/Jason Speakman // Getty Images

5 min read

MY EXPERIENCE WITH Top Gun, which was released in 1986 and turns 40 this week, exists in three distinctive portions, each marking a respective decade of my life. The first is almost farcical in its nature. In my early teens, a neighbor in my suburban South Carolina subdivision claimed his vintage convertible was featured in a movie called Top Gun . The story went that he was stationed on the Naval Air Base during the Tony Scott-helmed, Tom Cruise-led production, and asked his vehicle to be a part of the film. My memory is that he said someone drove it in a shot, but it’s certainly not the 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster replica that Kelly McGillis drives . My family didn’t have cable growing up, and it wasn’t a movie my father ever felt strongly enough about to share with me when going through his favorites.…