Airplane! (1980)
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One of the most difficult genres to compare films in is the comedy genre, since how funny a joke or situation is always going to be a subjective opinion. What one person finds hilarious, another may not see any humour in at all. It is therefore difficult to categorise any film, or group of films as “the funniest movies ever” but it’s certainly true that there are many people out there who would categorise this movie as one of the most amusing ever made.
As the name suggests, the comedy here centres on the passengers on board an airline. Specifically, an airline which is in a situation familiar from many bad disaster movies - the crew of the plane have been incapacitated by food poisoning and a member of the crew must be found who can fly the plane. Fortunately the plane has former air force pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) aboard, unfortunately he hasn’t flown a plane since a traumatic and disastrous sortie during the Vietnam war. With the help of his air-stewardess girlfriend Elaine (Julie Haggerty), Doctor Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) and ground-based support from Steven McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) he must somehow land the plane safely.
This is not a film about what happens the plot, in fact the plot is only there to allow some spoofing of the disaster film genre. The main point of this film is to try and cram as much punning, joking, physical comedy and general surreal silliness as can be fit into a one and a half hour long movie. Many of the jokes miss their target but there are so many that even the small proportion of jokes that are really funny are enough to provide regular laughs - especially in the second half of the movie. From the opening sequence of the plane’s tail fin breaking through the clouds to the accompaniment of the Jaws theme on to the blow-up Auto Pilot and many witty one-liners this is filled with good comedy.
Things like direction, production quality and plot integrity aren’t really worth worrying about here, but one thing good comedy movies share in common with other movies is their requirement for good acting and this film delivers that. Lloyd Bridges and Robert Hays both put in good performances but it’s Leslie Nielsen’s deadpan comic turn that steals the show here - and gave him a full 20 years worth of subsequent roles in (mostly inferior) comedy movies.
There’s not much that can really be said to summarise this movie except to say it’s both very silly and very, very funny.Rating : 9 / 10
Links
Unedited Script of the film
Sound files from the film, as well as a review.
All content ©2003 William Marnoch.
Comments? Agree/Disagree with the Reviews? Suggestions? Random Ramblings? Whatever you might want to say, feel free to e-mail me at william@wmarnoch.freeserve.co.uk .