Airplane!

A spoof of the popular commercial aviation disaster movies of the 70’s.

Airplane is the gold standard of the spoof film genre. It revels in its own silliness, throwing out gags with reckless abandon. Sure, some of the jokes fall flat, but it hits far more often than it misses, and knocks more than its fair share right out of the park.

Much of the film’s success is due to the inspired casting. Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stack essentially parody many of their straight roles from years past, and Leslie Nielsen’s deadpan delivery allows him to turn what would otherwise be a corny line into a comedy classic. Toss in an inspired extended cameo from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whose comic timing is impeccable, and you’ve got one memorable cast.

Helping considerably is the script. Weighing in at a tight 88 minutes, it knows this kind of movie is best enjoyed in smaller doses and avoids wearing out its welcome. At the same time though, it’s not afraid to take a little time to setup its punch lines; a great example being the stewardess’ song for the ailing little girl.

Indeed, the biggest problem with Airplane is that some of the jokes don’t work. In a film like this that throws everything at the wall to see what will stick, some things are bound to fall short, but thankfully these are all quick throwaway gags and not long setups with weak payoffs.

That said, Airplane is definitely worth a look, as you’re pretty much guaranteed at least one belly laugh, and probably several more to boot.