Amazon.com essential video: The quintessential movie spoof that spawned an entire genre of parody films, the original Airplane! still holds up as one of the brightest comedic gems of the '80s, not to mention of cinema itself (it ranked in the top 5 of Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 funniest movies ever made). The humor may be low and obvious at times, but the jokes keep coming at a rapid-fire clip and its targets--primarily the lesser lights of '70s cinema, from disco films to star-studded disaster epics--are more than worthy for send-up. If you've seen even one of the overblown Airport movies then you know the plot: the crew of a filled-to-capacity jetliner is wiped out and it's up to a plucky stewardess and a shell-shocked fighter pilot to land the plane. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are the heroes who have a history that includes a meet-cute à la Saturday Night Fever, a surf scene right out of From Here to Eternity, a Peace Corps trip to Africa to teach the natives the benefits of Tupperware and basketball, a war-ravaged recovery room with a G.I. who thinks he's Ethel Merman (a hilarious cameo)--and those are just the flashbacks! The jokes gleefully skirt the boundaries of bad taste (pilot Peter Graves to a juvenile cockpit visitor: "Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?"), with the high (low?) point being Hagerty's intimate involvement with the blow-up automatic pilot doll, but they'll have you rolling on the floor. The film launched the careers of collaborators Jim Abrahams (Big Business), David Zucker (Ruthless People), and Jerry Zucker (Ghost), as well as revitalized such B-movie actors as Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, and Leslie Nielsen, who built a second career on films like this. A vital part of any video collection. --Mark Englehart
Silly and outrageously funny ^ The Godfather of all movie spoofs, every fan of comedy should see this movie. From beginning to end, it is filled with brilliant one-liners and sight gags. Even the more obvious jokes are still funny because of the witty writing and spot-on timing. Especially if you're a fan of movie spoofs and somehow haven't seen it yet, this is a must-see. While the sets may be a bit dated, most of the comedy itself holds up well.
What is the plot? It's the main story of a movie... but that's not important right now. Robert Hays plays Ted Striker, a former military pilot who has been too afraid to fly since the war but is the only person who can land the plane after the pilot and co-pilot come down with food poisoning, along with half the passengers. Julie Hagerty plays Elaine, the stewardess who was in love with Striker but hates how he's stuck in the past. The cast is rather interesting, with a mix of comedic and serious actors all delivering the one-liners. My favorite is Lloyd Bridges as McCroskey, the supervisor in the air traffic control tower. There are some inspired choices here, such as Barbara Billingsley (the mother in "Leave it to Beaver") as a jive talker, and Peter Graves as Captain Oveur.
In addition to lots of great one-liners, the movie also has some really funny ongoing gags, such as McCroskey saying he picked the wrong week to quit smoking and then later that he picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines. There's no shortage of sight gags either, including an automatic pilot which is a blow-up dummy. Almost everyone can use a silly movie now and then and "Airplane!" definitely delivers.
Super Silliness and Slapstick! ^ Silly but funny, and the laughs last through many viewings - even though its now 30 years old. Also like having Kareem as a sidekick instead of O.J.
Great movie! ^ This is a movie we've had for years - wore out the VCR tape - had to get it on DVD! Great service and great condition.
Guilty Pleasure ^ I hadn't seen Airplane for at least 10 years but decided to buy a used DVD to add to my collection. This kind of movie fits my sense of humor - kinda silly and gross in places, but still a lot of laughs. The humor is definitely 1980s with some pop-culture references that were fun to me, but would probably go over the heads of my grown children. It was also fun to see some of the actors that I hadn't seen in a few years. Even my wife, who wasn't looking forward to it, was laughing in some places. Not a cinematic masterpiece, but a fun time.
Can't overcome your fear of flying? Then watch this! ^ This is probably the first comedy that has satirized the disaster genre. Before that atrocious film that's simply called "Disaster Movie," we've had the chance to be overwhelmingly amused by watching "Airplane!". This has to be one of the greatest comedies in the entire history of motion pictures. The humor equals to that of Blazing Saddles, The Naked Gun, and Spaceballs: it is truly hilarious! There's a whole lot of silly sight gags and wordplay all around, and some pretty memorable scenes:
*"Don't worry, Stewardess, I can speak Jive."
*"Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!"
*"Roger, Roger. Over."
*"Would you like some cream?"
*"And don't call me Shirley!"
and so on and so on.
As everyone has already described it, this is pure comedic gold. And if you're scared of taking off on a plane, then this'll help you overcome your fears. Why? Because it's funny, and the constant laughing will help you forget your troubles!
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