Airplane! (1980)

1980 | Comedy

88 mins

Surely you can't be serious?!?



Produced by Paramount Pictures
Director David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams
Writer Jim Abrahams
Cast Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Ethel Merman

Background Image Courtesy: Paramount Pictures.
Images And Data Courtesy Of: Paramount Pictures.
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance with Fair Use.

Added By

Andy K

Added this item on Feb 23, 2017

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Airplane! (1980) Reviews & Ratings (28)
9-10
46.4% (13)
7-8
53.6% (15)
5-6
0.0% (0)
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Sarah (7799 KP) rated

Dec 8, 2020  
Airplane! (1980)
Airplane! (1980)
1980 | Comedy
Surely you can't be serious?
Film #6 on the 100 Movies Bucket List: Airplane!

Airplane! is a well known comedy classic, but for me I’m ashamed to admit that aside from the infamous “Don’t call me Shirley” line, I could barely remember a thing about this film. Airplane! is undoubtedly the mother, and master, of all comedy spoof films. Written and directed by Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker, this focuses Ted Striker (Robert Hays) who despite his fear of flying boards a plane to win back his girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty), only to wind up having to ensure the plane lands safely when the pilots get sick.

The plot is definitely basic, but what it lacks in proper story it more than makes up for in laughs. I’ve never seen a film so chock full of jokes and gags, and in such a wide variety too. This features everything from subtle(ish) background jokes to witty and smart dialogue and obvious physical humour, and aside for a few misses, the majority of these jokes land perfectly. There’s the crude and hilarious auto pilot scene, to the incredibly funny and smart lines like when stewardess Elaine asks Doctor Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) about the onboard illness, “A hospital? What is it?”, to which he replies “It’s a big building with patients”. There’s something incredibly simple about the humour in this film that works so well, and yet aside from those few misses, it never resorts to crudeness that becomes disgusting and overbearing like most modern comedies do. These gags paired with the spoofing and sending up of disaster movies (plus many other genres) is a winning formula that has been emulated many times over by the likes of The Naked Gun and Hot Shots films since this was released in 1980. Admittedly there are some jokes that nowadays would be considered unacceptable and would never see the light of day, but fortunately these are a small minority and don’t spoil the overall enjoyment of the film, even now 40 years later.

The cast excel too in pulling off the over the top cheesiness you’d expect from a parody, and this is no mean feat. Whilst Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays do well as the main characters, it’s the smaller supporting roles that really stand out especially as they appear to have been given the best lines. You have Leslie Nielsen as the deadpan Doctor Rumack who delivers some hilarious dialogue with such a straight face, Lloyd Bridges as Steve McCroskey with his immortal lines beginning with “Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop…” and my absolute favourite background character Johnny (Stephen Stucker) who has some of the funniest moments you’ll ever see from such a minor character. And a notable mention has to go to Otto the automatic pilot, who even gets a feature in the credits.

Airplane! is a rightful comedy classic that could beat modern comedy films hands down, and it truly is a shame they don’t make spoofs like this anymore. It’s hilariously funny, right until the very end of the credits and an entirely unforgettable comedy experience.
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David McK (3466 KP) rated

Aug 14, 2022  
Airplane! (1980)
Airplane! (1980)
1980 | Comedy
I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!
Classic 1980s absurdist comedy, apparently loosely based on the plot of an earlier film called 'Zero Hour' (edit: yes, with that earlier film released in 1957).

Eminently quotable, with plenty of gags throughout: the most famous, perhaps, being the "don't call me Shirley" gag but I'm also quite partial to the following:

"Nervous?"
"Yes"
 "First time?"
"No, I've been nervous plenty of times before ..."
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Will Ferrell recommended (curated)

 
Airplane! (1980)
Airplane! (1980)
1980 | Comedy
(1)   
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Doug Jones recommended (curated)

 
Airplane! (1980)
Airplane! (1980)
1980 | Comedy

"Also, the very first Airplane! movie, with that zany comedy, slapstick-y, sight gag thing going on. I’d never seen a movie like that before. Of course, after that came more Airplanes and Hot Shots, Top Secret, and the Naked Gun movies. But Airplane took me so by surprise, and Leslie Nielsen was brilliant."

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