Movie #216: Airplane!

Movie #: 216
Movie Title: Airplane!
Year Released: 1980

Director: Jim Abrahams and David Zucker
Notable Cast: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielson, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Short Description: An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plain is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But don’t call him Shirley. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #84
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 5/27/2013

What I Liked: The funniest part of the movie is when the kid who’s invited up to the cockpit accuses Roger Murdock of being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s rare when a movie breaks from convention and points out that it’s a movie or its stars are actually actors and Airplane! did it in a perfect way with Kareem. The stewardess addressing the two passengers in jive was also great.

What I Disliked: Knowing that Airplane! is considered by many to be among the funniest movies there is, I went in with high expectations. Sadly, it wasn’t as funny as I hoped. Other than the two parts I mentioned that I liked, I’ve either seen bits of the movie before so it wasn’t a new experience (ex. “and don’t call me Shirley) or the laughs just plain weren’t there (ex. Leslie Neilson’s character continually popping his head into the cockpit to unintentionally put pressure on Robert Hays’ character).

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: Though I was slightly disappointed and expected more laughs, Airplane! was funny at points and just ok the rest of the time.