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| Airplane (1980) |
One of the most impressive things about Airplane is the sheer variety of jokes it contains. At first, I thought we were mainly going to be getting jokes about the plane itself and the people on it, but there are some insane out-of-left-field jokes in this film. I can't remember if it was before or at the point where the girl scouts started glassing each other in a tavern, but at some point you just submit yourself to the madness. The weird thing is, I'm almost relieved so many jokes go as far as they do, as if only a few did, they would feel out of place and not at all funny. The opening couple of minutes really set the scene perfectly; a Jaws parody followed by two airport intercom announcers bickering over what the red/white zones are for as a thinly veiled way for their spat about an abortion to continue. After witnessing all of that in the first 90 seconds, you're in. Instantly. It was that fast. I was immediately on board and along for the ride, eager to see what ridiculous premise the next joke would base itself on. And I wouldn't be disappointed.
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| Robert Hays as Ted |
The other impressive thing about Airplane is how quick the jokes come. I'm serious, it's a movie that never lets you stop to catch your breath. Every shot is either telling a joke, in the middle of a joke, or isn't a joke but is allowing for the next shot to set up its joke effectively. It's like the writers wanted to set a record for how many jokes they could cram into one <90 minute movie. And, it's not just the dialogue. There are so many sight gags that happen either right in front of you, or in the background while other dialogue is happening. Honestly, it was almost tiring trying to keep up with this movie. It was just joke after joke after joke with almost no let up, and the best part of all of this? Barely any joke falls flat. Apart from a few jokes that have either dated a little or are just a little too out there even for this movie, every single joke hits a bullseye. That's why I'm so in awe of this movie. I wish I could write something that told as many jokes as consistently and effortlessly as this movie did. I'm almost relieved that not many other films have attempted to do what this film did; it's more special because it's so unique.
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| Julie Hagerty as Elaine |
The backdrop for all of this is an out-of-control plane, and they do manage to squeeze pretty much all the material out of this setting as possible. In terms of the plot, I feel like it's unnecessary to talk about it, since it really doesn't matter in a movie like this. The jokes are front-and-center here, but they never detract too much from the story being told, which is why, despite all the nonsense that's unfolding, you're still invested in whether or not this plane will get to the ground. A lot of the credit goes to the main cast, and I love the way this movie picked its actors. They seem to have gone for more of the typically serious or dramatic actors and basically just told them to do their usual stuff, which really helps the deadpan nature of this material shine through. If this script was given to typical comedy actors and they were allowed to ham it up, this movie would not have been nearly as wonderful as it is here. That's a big par of why so many of these jokes work: the actors are committing 100% to the situation, as half-assing it even a little would expose the, well, silliness of the whole thing. The supporting cast are also fantastic, and every single one of them gets at least one moment to shine. I just wish we get a little more closure on what happened to some of them in the denouement. Not all of them, but some which were given a focus early on, I feel like we could have gotten a couple more laughs out of them once the whole thing was over.
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| Leslie Nielsen as Dr. Rumack |
The main focus of the story is on Striker and Elaine's relationship, and we get their story told in numerous flashbacks which, thankfully, don't detract from the main storyline on the plane like I was worried they would. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty play these roles wonderfully, and their chemistry is great throughout. I'm especially impressed with Hagerty, since this was her first film role ever, and she nailed it. I love how they treated their story like something out of a Hitchcock movie; a lot of elements of this story really reminded me of Vertigo. I imagine this was the intention, and it just makes it so much better when we see their story unfold throughout the flight. Leslie Nielson's deadpan delivery is perfect at every moment, and I'm sure to be using 'Don't call me Shirley' in my everyday vernacular from now on. I'm running short on things to talk about with this movie, but, really, do I need to say anything more? I've talked about the jokes and the characters, nothing else really matters here. I can't talk about the plot in great detail, because it's a joke, I can't criticise any plotholes I may or may not have found, because any that show up are there for a joke that nails it, I can't talk about the soundtrack, because a lot of that is used for jokes as well... I feel like I'd just be repeating myself if I went on any further.
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| Otto |
So, I'll just end it here by saying Airplane (1980) is indeed one of the greatest comedies I've ever seen. If you're a fan of comedy, or just want to laugh for 87 minutes, check it out and, I promise you, you will not be disappointed. 9.5/10.
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