Well, with all three Naked Gun movies under my belt, I figured it was time I sat down and watched another comedy from Directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker. I remember when I was younger my dad tried to show me this film, but he accidentally showed me the sequel instead.
Anyway, Airplane!, or Flying High as it is otherwise known, is absolutely hilarious. The film is a parody of airplane disaster movies loaded with jokes; clever, stupid, crass, politically incorrect, and constant jokes.
The plot is an over-dramatised satire. Former Air Force pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) is afraid of flying after awful experiences in the war. However, when his relationship with his flight attendant girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty) falls apart, he boards the plane she's working on in order to try and win her back. Of course, one this flight a series of circumstances forces Ted into a situation wherein he must conquer his fear and land the plane safely.
Everything here is played for laughs; the relationship between Elaine and Ted's relationship is over-acted and told time and again to fellow passengers in a way that's so trite it bores them to suicide. There's a special kind of style here that manages to take every moment that would be tense and instead get a joke out of it.
It's a bit more shocking than the Naked Gun movies; some of these jokes would never fly in today's comedies. An interaction where a little boy approaches a little girl ends with her saying "no thanks, I take my coffee black... like my men". When a young boy gets to go into the cockpit for his first time, the pilot ends up making suggestive remarks. It's jokes that take something seemingly innocent and innocuous moments and unexpectedly make them super dark. That said, a lot of the humour's delivery is the same, quick and consistent jokes that never need to make an impression for more than a moment because there's another always to follow.
There's also plenty of harmless jokes. Pilots Clarence, Roger and Victor have a quick dialogue with the punch line: "We have clearance, Clarence." "Roger, Roger, what's our vector, Victor?".
The Verdict: When a movie's basically 90 minutes of pure jokes and parody, all you really have to talk about is how good the film is at both of these things. In these ways, Airplane! is a complete success. This film is a riot from start to finish, and absolutely worth a watch, unless you happen to be a child because much of this humour is either inappropriate for younger audiences.
Rating: 8/10
Watched January 15th, 2016, Published July 9th, 2016
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