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Plane Insane
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Oct 15, 2004
4
of
5 people found this review helpful
David and Jerry Zucker's Airplane! was one of the craziest and funniest films of its time. The filmmakers took all the things that made the disaster flick, Airport and its sequels such big hits, added their own comic twist, and made Airplane! just as big a sensation (which inevitably led to an inferior sequel, Airplane II: The Sequel). For me, Airplane! is more of a guilty pleasure than anything.
Sometimes I need to watch this film again just to have a recollection of the story. I spend too much time laughing, so I usually don't get the chance to take in everything that is going on. Alas, I've watched the film to the point where I know the dialogue well enough to catch a joke before I see it. That doesn't mean it doesn't make me laugh. I've watched Airplane! dozens of times, and some of its jokes and one-liners still make me chuckle.
A commercial plane is pilotless after a severe encounter with food poisoning on board. The only hope for the people on the plane is ex-war pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) who is now terrified of airplanes and is only on there to patch things up with his ex-girlfriend, Elaine.
The film also features Leslie Nielsen (before he had the urge to star in such horrendous films like Mr. Magoo and 2001: A Space Travesty) as Dr. Rumack, the one who looks after the ill folk. He gives one of the most hilarious performances in the movie. Kareem Abdul-Jabaar makes an appearance as a co-pilot who is mistaken for that one popular basketball player...
Well, if you stick around for the end of the film, you're in for one wild ride. I don't think all of the things that happen could really happen in reality, but the film itself is so funny I don't even care. Like its muse, Airport, which was released in 1970 and started an era of disaster films, some good (Speed, Titanic), some bad (Turbulence, Speed 2: Cruise Control), Airplane! was released in 1980 and started an era of spoof comedies that has lasted until today.
I think Airplane! is a successful spoof and nothing more. Don't get me wrong, though. I laughed many laughs and I loved the acting. However, critics consider it to be the funniest film of all time, which I don't believe it to be. For me, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are more humorous films. Nevertheless, this film does shows its inferiors (Scary Movie, Not Another Teen Movie, The Naked Gun) what spoof comedies are all about. I can assure you that you'll never take a plane ride as funny and freaky as this one in your life. |
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