airplane ! is considered among many to be the epitome of satire film - making .
after all , it 's brought to us by one of the best known satire writing / directing teams .
even if most people do n't recognize the names behind the films , they are bound to recognize the titles : airplane ! , top secret , the naked gun , and hot shots to name a few .
but although the zucker / abrahams / zucker team was first introduced with the kentucky fried movie in 1977 , airplane ! remains the true cornerstone of their work , and their directorial debuts .
in the seventies , disaster films seemed to be at an all time high .
films like earthquake , the towering inferno , and the poseidon adventure were big hits .
there was also a series about the disasters that can arise when traveling by plane - a series that spanned the entire decade .
and so , in 1980 , we were introduced to a new airplane disaster film .
this time the disaster had nothing to do with a maniacal hijacker or crashing into the ocean . . .
it had to do with bad fish .
airplane !
is the story of ted striker ( robert hays ) - an ex - fighter - pilot who has never gotten over the fact that a decision he had to make in the midst of war led to the death of six , er , seven comrades . unable to stop living in the past , ted 's world fell apart .
he spent his time moving from city to city without ever having a stable job , and eventually , as we begin this film , is getting dumped by his lover , flight attendant elaine dickinson ( julie hagerty ) .
in a desperate attempt not to lose her , ted buys a ticket for the same flight elaine is working .
unfortunately , she is unsympathetic and even criticizes ted for following her , which leaves him wallowing in self - pity .
in the midst of it all , something happens .
someone gets sick .
then another .
then another .
soon , the whole plane is full of deathly - ill chicago - bound people .
.
.
and when the pilots get sick ( played by peter graves , kareem abdul - jabbar , and frank ashmore ) , who will save the day ?
( gee , i wonder ) of course the main draw here is the non - stop " whiz - bang " comedy , with a hefty dose of both visual and spoken gags .
although i had seen this movie a few times before ,
i was still laughing thru the entire thing .
the most fun character by far is the doctor , played by leslie nielsen .
he 's a dry , subtle , sterotypically straight - faced doctor that ends up saying some of the funniest lines of the film .
in a film like this , you 're not really expecting an elaborate production , so one ca n't complain about the amateurish quality .
what you can complain about is the absolutely annoying johnny , played by stephen stucker .
this character is pointless , nauseating , and very unfunny .
i do n't know why he was put in there , and i do n't think anybody will find a good excuse .
and when the film nears an end , it slows down quite a bit , almost getting old .
you got ta give it to a movie that only runs 88 minutes and can feel two hours long .
aside from that , airplane !
is really a top - notch spoof that will likely forever be known as a spoof classic .
it would be a good choice to pop in the vcr with a group of friends , especially if they have n't seen it .
and if they ask what the plot is , just tell 'em
" it 's a synopsis of the basic storyline of the film , but that 's not important right now .
"
if you 've seen the film , you 'll understand ; - )
Output: P