Airplane!

All of this just works. ― Todd Howard

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Airplane!
This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 2010.
"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
Genre: Comedy Directed by: Jim Abrahams David Zucker Jerry Zucker Produced by: John Davidson Based on: Zero Hour! by Arthur Hailey Hall Bartlett John Champion Starring: Robert Hays Julie Hagerty Cinematography: Joseph Biroc Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Release date: June 27, 1980 (Toronto and Buffalo) July 2, 1980 (Worldwide) Runtime: 87 mins Country: United States Language: English Budget: $3.5 million Box office: $158 million

Airplane! (alternatively titled Flying High!) is a 1980 comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, and was written by the same people.

Plot

When one of the in-flight meals makes the passengers and two of the pilots sick, a doctor discovers it has food poisoning, and it's up to traumatized war veteran Ted to land the plane and confront the mistakes he made during the war.

Why It's Free To Ride This Plane

1. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty's performances were great. The same can be said for everyone else.
2. Otto was a hilarious comic relief character.
3. The film has plenty of likable characters.
   1. Ted Striker is a war veteran who was traumatized after he failed a mission and got his entire squad killed, but pulls through to save the passengers.
   2. Elaine Dickinson is Ted's ex-girlfriend who leaves him, but still genuinely wants to help him move on.
   3. Dr. Rumack is an intelligent, but slightly confused doctor who helps to keep the passengers calm and motivates Ted.
   4. A lot of the minor characters are also very entertaining and memorable despite their low screentime.
4. It is incredibly funny, with scenes like when Otto gets inflated or Dr. Rumack's entertaining procedures.
5. Really good plot, which was well-thought-out.
6. Great soundtrack, with songs like Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.
7. The concept of a traumatized war veteran attempting to land a plane after an in-flight meal makes everyone sick was an incredible concept.
8. The writing is really good.
9. "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
10. Many slapstick gags that still endure to this day.

Bad Qualities That Crash

1. Although this sounds coincidental and nitpicky to some, the film's slogan can be a bit offensive to 9/11 victims, although this can be excused due to the aforementioned events happening 21 years after the movie came out.
2. Some of the jokes (while funny) can feel random and out of place at times.
3. The "And Leon's getting laaaaargerrrrrr" scene, while funny, is an invasion of personal space.

Reception

Airplane! was acclaimed by both critics and audiences, and is widely considered one of the best films about planes. It currently holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 89% from the audience. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though unabashedly juvenile and silly, Airplane! is nevertheless an uproarious spoof comedy full of quotable lines and slapstick gags that endure to this day". It currently holds a 7.7 on IMDB. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Trivia

• Garfield creator Jim Davis says this is one of his favorite movies.

External Links

• Airplane! at the Internet Movie Database
• Airplane! on Rotten Tomatoes

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