Airplane!

Rating:
Summary: THE FUNNIEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME (and you KNOW it)
Review: I am willing to go along with the concensus opinion that "Some Like It Hot" is the greatest movie comedy of all time, but I also know there has never been a funnier movie than "Airplane!" I have not laughed so much during a movie before or since I first saw this film in the theater and my brother and I basically did half the movie for our parents at dinner the next day. "Airplane!" spawned the kitchen sink school of film comedy, where everything and anything that might possibly be considered funny by someone somewhere is thrown into the mix, and has now achieved classic "often imitated, never surpassed" status. It is also the equivalent of a cinematic Rorschach test: what do you find funniest: Julie Hagerty as Elaine Dickinson, the Stewardess who has to repair the automatic pilot? Robert Hays as Ted Striker, who bores people to a place beyond tears with his sad story? Lloyd Bridges as Steve McCroskey, the Chicago Air Controller who picked the wrong day to (INSERT PERSON!AL FAVORITE HERE)? Peter Graves as Captain Clarence Oveur, with his love for gladiator films? Leslie Nielsen as Doctor Rumack explaining that "What's a hospital" is not important right now (and don't call him Shirley)? Robert Stack as Captain Rex Kramer, who does not want to turn on the runway lights because that is what they expect him to do? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as Copilot Roger Murdoch, tired of taking all that crap from NBA fans? Stephen Stucker as Johnny Hinshaw, doing his Barbara Stanwyck impersonation and warning Nick and Heath that there is a fire in the barn? Barbara Billingsley as the nice lady translating what the stewardess says into jive? Personally, believe it or not, Robert Stack is the one who totally cracks me up, playing off his macho persona. While the greatest share of credit for "Airplane!" goes to the writing/directing triumvirate of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker (does the order really matter with these guys?), the fact that they got such fam!iliar faces as Nielsen, Bridges, Billingsley and the rest to take these parts is what really makes this one work. All I know is that after "Airplane!" you fail to stick around and read the credits at the movies at your own risk.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT?!
Review: I kept hearing rave reviews for this movie, so I decided to watch it. Apparently it is one of the funniest movies of all time. After the movie was over and the credits rolled, I just sat there staring at the screen for a few minutes contemplating how anyone could even watch this movie. I laughed about, oh, three times.

And no, it's not because I don't like silly, nonsensical humor, because that's my favorite kind of humor. This was just...not funny. It just wasn't funny. And I find myself wondering how anyone could recommend this movie. I can't believe this has an average rating of 4 and a half stars!! My god!!! Even "The Ladies Man" was funnier than this! "Planet of the Apes" was funnier than this! And to the guy who said the "drinking problem" gag was "ingenious" and "no one would have thought of that"...um...I don't know what to say.

OK, rant over. DON'T rent this movie...

Rating:
Summary: ahhhh, yes...
Review: this film is probably one of the funniest i have ever seen. the film's humor is just so...obvious, yet so...hilarious that it's iresistable. the plot is simplistic but often leads to some great set-ups (i.e. the drinking problem, the inflatable copilot) and very rewarding punchlines. perhaps the best example of this is this memorable piece of diolauge:

"surely you can't be serious!"

"i am serious, and stop calling me shirley."

ah, yes, and who could forget this one:

"this woman needs to be taken to a hospital."

"a hospital? what is it?

"it's a big building with patients in it, but that's not important right now."

overall this film is hard to describe. see it for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Inspired lunacy!
Review: The Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams made mincemeat out of the disaster movies of the late '70s and early '80s by showing just how silly they were. From Ted Striker's drinking problem, to Elaine blowing up the Otto pilot, Airplane! was the first movie to show the endless series of "Airport" movie how it should have been done. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are the star crossed lovers who try and save the doomed aircraft. Leslie Nielsen, until this a dramatic actor, sharpens his skills in preparation for "The Naked Gun: from the files of Police Squad."

A must have, if only because it's one of the few DVDs that Paramount has figured out how to put a secondary commentary track on.

Rating:
Summary: An All Star Comedy
Review: "We'll have to get these people to a hospital." "A hospital?! Oh no! What is it?" "It's a tall building with sick people in it..." This is one of the many funny lines in this send-off on airport disaster films. Great comedic dialogue coupled with a lot of visual gags makes "Airplane!" one of the funniest movies of all time. You won't tire of watching this film as it has a lot of laughs and it never loses its comic edge. Don't rent it, buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Airplane! Surely You Can't Be Serious...
Review: The Dorr says any movie that makes fun of every Airport flick, Saturday Night Fever, and many more to follow with a great sense of humor must be watched - no - owned! The star infested flick featuring Robert Hays, Julia Haggerty, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielson, and many more are stranded on one plane, food poisioning, and no pilots. A dismal war flight record passenger is their only hope to land that plane. He is of course, aided by the "Otto" pilot, who happens to be an inflatable pilot. The flight gets rough, and the landing was about as good as a controlled crash - in a good way.

Rating:
Summary: One of the TOP THREE BEST comedies ever made!
Review: It's pretty hard to say which is the #1 comedy of all time, since there are really different types of comedy. For slapstick, literal, and pure cheap comedy, this is in the top 3. It is often rated as the #1 comedy of all time.

I have seen it on TV dozens of times since the 80's, and now that I don't see it as often on TV, I rent it about once or twice a year just to get a good laugh in. Even now that I've seen it MANY times, it NEVER fails to make me laugh.

SUPER FUNNY. I don't think there is 60 seconds in this movie where something isn't happening. If the people in the foreground are being serious, WATCH THE BACKGROUND.

There are so many killer one liners in here. I don't want to give away any scenes, but the automatic pilot getting blow up, the jive dudes talking (AND the subcaptions which are NOWHERE near what they are REALLY saying), Ted Stryker boring people into suicide with his flashbacks, the disco scene, the final approach with Stryker EXCESSIVELY sweating, the perverted pilot (Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?), and the lady who has convulsions and the passengers who line up to beat her.

There are just SO MANY drop dead funny scenes in this. If you need to run to the bathroom, PAUSE THE MOVIE. Guaranteed you will miss some scenes. There is no possible you can pick up everything in one sitting. In fact, after MANY rentals, just recently I found something I had missed for 15 years of watching this movie. It has THAT much hidden in it.

If you haven't seen this, you must have lived in a cave.

For anyone who likes slapstick, literal, and even some basic adult humor (you will know what I mean by the automatic pilot and Elaine sitting on Teds face), this movie will have you rolling on the floor laughing.

Too bad movies aren't still made this way. How many movies can last 20 YEAR and still be raved about? This movie is also a great cure if you are depressed. Pop it in the player and just watch it. I have seen dozens upon dozens of comedies, and this is in the top 1% of ultimate funny movies.

Reporter: What kind of plane is it? Jacobs: Oh its a really neat plane. It's white with red stripes on it, wheels and curtains in the windows. It looks like a big tylenol.

Rumack: What was it we bad for dinner tonight? Elaine: Well we had a choice, steak or fish. Rumack: Yes, yes I remember. I had lasagne.

Just way too funny.

Rating:
Summary: Laughs a-plenty and eye candy to boot!
Review: One of the funniest films ever made (I know it's a cliche, but they just DON'T make movies like this anymore!) and if that weren't enough, Robert Hays is a GORGEOUS HUNK! (especially in that white uniform!) ...and you thought this was a GUY flick- HA!

Rating:
Summary: A classic that never tires
Review: This oft-quoted and poorly imitated piece of comedic gold has finally made it to DVD, and it is just as funny now that we can see all the little low-budget misses and blemishes. Until the DVD release, one could not see the cables of the microphone being dragged offscreen on the left when Elaine and Stryker have their airport conversation in the very beginning of the film. These little things are pointed out in a very enjoyable audio commentary by the writers and producers of the film, who in addition to laughing at their own jokes and flubs, make the film much more enjoyable by explaining movie references and character choices. Anyone who is an Airplane! fan should watch the commentary at least once to gain a whole new appreciation for the movie. I am serious, and please don't call me Shirley.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Disappointing DVD
Review: Airplane! Is probably my most favorite movie of all time, for all the reasons enumerated by the other reviews on this page. However, I purchased the DVD to hear the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team provide anecdotes that enhanced my appreciation for the characters in the movie. While they did provide some relevant insight, most of the time the commentary consisted of droning on about production stories and boring talk. Towards the end of the movie the directors seem like they could care less, and in fact there are long pauses where nobody says anything. This is fine, because I love Airplane!, but it was a major diappointment because the other DVD's I have seen provide insight and enhancement to movies.

If you are interested in seeing the trailer, that is certainly a bonus, as is the ability to cut to my favorite scenes. The commentary, however, was a letdown.