Airplane! Review

 

        We’re in the 80s now and I feel that Airplane! is probably the best comedy to kick off the new decade. It’s mostly a parody film that makes fun of the disaster films such as Zero Hour. Specifically, films about airline disasters that I’m assuming were ubiquitous at that time. Even if you didn’t know that tidbit, the film still manages to pull of being a comedy.

1. Flight to Parody

        From the start, the film starts with a Jaws reference. We follow Ted Striker, a former Air Force pilot trying to make peace with his ex. After being able to get the last seat in the flight she’s in, a series of events prompts Ted to confront his fears and land the plane. And you would think that the whole film would just simply copy another film’s story beat for beat, like having the usual pop culture reference at the time to be there just for laughs. 

        The trio obviously knows how to make the comedy be as hilarious by being completely absurd. I’ll talk about them in a moment. For now, the film works on a whole other level which set the standard for doing a parody. At it’s core, it’s a disaster parody film, but the way it goes about it is to set up the pieces that may heighten the situation. 

        You can call it a red herring or good punchline. For instance, when we see a patient being boarded on the plane. The girl needs a heart transplant and is explicitly told to stay calm. As you would expect in this film it all goes wrong, but not in the way you would think. You assume the joke would go one way, only to throw a curveball when a flight attendant gets involved. It takes a special talent to fool the audience and still be hilarious. 

        With that, the characters are all enjoyable. This is the main highlight in the film that is probably the secret weapon to make either a comedy or parody film work. The characters are played straight, while a whole lot of batshit moments occur. No character brings up the zaniness of it, just the initial reaction of something happening. It’s what makes the whole film unique since anything that seems out of the ordinary is played completely straight. Like the whole scene involving Kareem Abdul-Jabar, it’s an absolute classic moment.

2. Z.A.Z. 

        These three changed comedies in the 80s. Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker both did the double duty of writing and directing. They got their start by being the writers for John Landis’ anthology film The Kentucky Fried Movie. From there, they made this film and of course branched off and did their own thing. It has to be noted that the writing is so on point that, it’s honestly a comedic feat that they managed to make any situation seem more outlandish than the last one. 

        As I mentioned earlier, what makes the film work is that everyone is played completely honest during something outrageous happening. It’s rare, and this type of comedy is mostly called heightened reality. Think of it as an actual event being presented with higher emotion. That works when it’s amped to eleven on the funny scale, while on crack. 

        To put it more simply, everyone’s a joke. Leslie Nielsen at the time was known for dramatic tv roles. When the trio decided to use him in the film, it was to have him be the straight man with everything happening. It basically helped Nielsen transition from one genre work to another, for better and worse. And as I brought up earlier with Kareem, it’s so perfect that you don’t really need an explanation as to why he’s there. The kid just getting to him is utterly hilarious. To think that he was a reference to a past LA Rams player appearing in Zero Hour. 

        They obviously went all out to break and make fun of every single possible airplane maneuver, procedure in the film. There’s honestly no way to put it into words, but I will say that I’m glad that they didn’t do the sequel since they exhausted every joke within aviation. It’s one of those lighting in the bottle moments where the trio were just writing and knocking every joke they could think of. 

3. Legacy

        Looking into their filmography, they defined the genre with how they told a joke visually. And it only seemed in a matter of time when they split up and did their own thing. Obviously, they worked better together but seeing just how one of them made the critically acclaimed Ghost, says just how much each of them influenced each other with their comedic wits. 

4. Overall

        Airplane! works as both a comedy and a parody. Watching now, you wouldn’t think it’s a parody but just a comedically absurd classic. It’s an accomplishment to have it work without any reference, and still be hilarious.