Airplane!
As air travel became more affordable and commonplace during the '70s, a series of airplane disaster movies were made. These films capitalized on the general public's fear of flying, featuring such catastrophes as mid-air collisions and 747s crashing into the ocean. The 1980 film Airplane! is a hilarious parody of these movies.
Written and directed by Jim Abrahams, Jerry & David Zucker, the film does not restrict itself to satiring just airline crash movies. In fact, nothing is sacred or off-limits. Among its many targets, Airplane! also pokes fun at old war movies (including From Here To Eternity), cheesy soap operas and religious freaks, to name just a few.
The movie begins with Ted Striker (Robert Hays) rushing to the airport to find his ex-girlfriend Elaine Dickenson (Julie Hagerty), a stewardess. She has just left Striker over his inability to move on from a disasterous air raid in the war. Desperate to resolve their differences, Striker purchases a ticket on a flight to Chicago on which she's working.
During the flight many passengers and all three pilots become violently ill after eating fish. As the only healthy passenger with aviation experience. Ted is forced to land the jet or else face certain death. While at the helm, Striker is forced to overcome his wartime trauma to try and save everyone aboard.
Probably the one attribute that makes Airplane! so brilliant is the writing. The jokes come fast and furious. There are way too many great one-liners to list, but they often involve common plays on words. For example:
Ted Striker: Surely, you can't be serious.
Dr. Rumack: I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley.
Another great scene takes place in the cockpit, where all three pilots' names closely resemble common aviation terms -- Roger, Victor and Clarence. The resulting dialogue is a routine worthy of Abbot and Costello's "Who's On First." O.K., it sounds lame, but it's actually quite funny.
What makes the writing so damn funny is that the lines are delivered with utmost sincerity. Many of the roles in Airplane! are filled with older dramatic actors not normally associated with comedy. To have actors deliver such goofy lines in all seriousness is hysterical. The role of Dr. Rumack definitely paved the way for Leslie Nielson's comic performance in The Naked Gun. Peter Graves also steals many scenes as Captain Clarence Oveur with such lines as "Joey . . . have you ever seen a grown man naked?" (I still recite many of his lines when I'm drinking). Finally, TV junkies will recognize Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver from "Leave It To Beaver") as the old lady translating the two jive-talkers.
It's unfortunate that Airplane! probably would not be made nowadays. The reason? It's too politically incorrect. Poking fun at every conceivable minority and religious group would piss off too many so-called enlightened people in the new millennium. The level of humor reached in Airplane! cannot be achieved by walking on eggshells. It's also far too ridiculous to be taken seriously. Just remember that sometimes the best burgers come from sacred cows.
Overall, Airplane! remains one of the greatest comedies ever made. Since it was made more than 20 years ago, though, many college students have never have seen it. If you're in this group, run out to your local video store, grab some beers, call some buddies over and get ready to laugh your ass off.
Send any comments/ feedback to the author.
Oh, what the hell. Call your friends over and get pissed. This movie gives a whole new definition to the term "drinking problem." Looks like you picked the wrong week to give up drinking.
Probably won't help you get laid, but probably won't hurt your chances either. Spouting off dumb lines afterwards definitely hurts your chances, though.
Buy this movie from Amazon.com
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