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Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves ... see more see more... , Leslie Nielsen , Robert Stack , Lorna Patterson , Stephen Stucker , Frank Ashmore , Jonathan Banks , Barbara Billingsley , Joyce Bulifant , Ted Chapman , Marcy Goldman , Rossie Harris , David Hollander , Howard Honig , Gregory Itzin , Howard Jarvis , Michael Laurence , David Leisure , Barbara Mallory , Maureen McGovern , Mary Mercier , Ethel Merman , Ann Nelson , John O'Leary , Cyril O'Reilly , Nicholas Pryor , Michelle Stacy , Robert Starr , Barbara Stuart , Kenneth Tobey , Jason Wingreen , Charlotte Zucker , Jim Abrahams , Lee Bryant , James Hong , Conrad Palmisano , Jerry Zucker , David Zucker , Jill Whelan , William Tregoe , Craig Berenson , Mae E. Campbell , Norman Alexander Gibbs , Nora Meerbaum , Al White , Louise Yaffe , Allison Caine , Herb Voland , Maurice Hill

This spoof of the Airport series of disaster movies relies on ridiculous sight gags, groan-inducing dialogue, and deadpan acting -- a comedy style that would be imitated for the next 20 years. Airplan... read more read more...e! pulls out all the clichés as alcoholic pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays), who's developed a fear of flying due to wartime trauma, boards a jumbo jet in an attempt to woo back his stewardess girlfriend (Julie Hagerty). Food poisoning decimates the passengers and crew, leaving it up to Striker to land the plane, with the help of a glue-sniffing air traffic controller (Lloyd Bridges) and Striker's vengeful former captain (Robert Stack), who must both talk him down. Along the way, we meet a clutch of stock disaster movie passengers like the guitar-strumming nun, a sick little girl, a frightened old lady, and two African-American travelers whose "jive" has to be subtitled. Leslie Nielsen portrays the plane's doctor, launching a new phase of the actor's career that carried him through the next two decades in several similarly comedic roles. The trio of directors Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker responsible for the film would eventually go on to solo careers, but not before making Top Secret! and Ruthless People. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

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85% liked it

262,533 ratings

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98% liked it

52 critics

PG, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker

Release Date: July 2, 1980

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DVD Release Date: October 24, 2000

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Stats: 15,369 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (15,369)

  • aquateen2
    January 22, 2012
    aquateen2
    Please like this movie everybody who hasn't seen Airplane yet... "I just wanted to tell you good luck because were all counting on you". It's fun and its silly. It's just one of those movies almost no one could hate. It will surely make you laugh, maybe even laugh out loud, but w... read moreont necessarily make you wet yourself with laughter. It comes out at you begging for belly laughs but it doesn't help you deliver sometimes. To make up for the flaw, it's actually a decent parody movie filled with undeniable charm and very likable characters that burst with quotable lines. It's a good ride and a top tier for disaster movies and "shirley" if you watched this already. You must have enjoyed it.
  • cosmo313
    September 18, 2011
    cosmo313
    This is probably the mother of all spoof films, and, despite eing a tad dated, and having a few gags that fall a little flat, it's still one of the funniest and best of its kind.

    The fiilm is a spoof of 70s disaster films, specifically the Airport series, and it follows a forme... read morer fighter pilot named Ted who has a fear of flying after suffering war related trauma. He boards a plane containing his former love Elaine (a stewardess) in a desperate attempt to try to win her back. The flight takes a turn for the worse when a lot of the crew and passengers suffer from an outbreak of food poisoning, and Ted his forced to confront his fears and past if he wants to save the day.

    This has an awesome ensemble cast featuring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, and Ethel Merman. They all do a great job, and it's pretty difficult to say who really steals the show, as they all have their great moments.

    Probably the most notable thing about htis film is the humor. It is of the absurdist and surreal varieties, and often very silly. Also, many of the jokes are delivered in dry deadpan fashions (both aurally and visually), which I thought made it even funnier. Furthermore, while this film has a bare bones plot, it's pretty much all about the jokes, as there are as many as possible shoved into this film. Seriously. It might take several viewings to catch everything, but that shouldn't be seen as a bad thing, especially when this is such a joy to watch.

    Something that really caught my attention was the music. It's by Elmer Bernstein, and it's very fitting and plays up the melodramatic stuff it's spoofing nicely, but it's also super catchy and actually works as real music on its own and not just as the soundtrack for a silly comedy. It's some very solid and impressive work.

    This is really essential viewing. Unfortunately a lot of the spoof films that this influnced aren't of the same quality, and the same goes for some of the other things made by ZAZ, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is still an endlessly entertaining and brilliant work.
  • blkbomb
    September 1, 2011
    blkbomb
    Rex Kramer: Striker, listen, and you listen close: flying a plane is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes. 

    "The craziest flight you'll ever take!" 

    I find Airplane! to be a bit overrated, but that's not to say I didn't find ... read moreany enjoyment in it at all. It has its share of hilarious moments, but it also has its share of gags that fall flat. In the spoof genre it is a good movie, but I don't think that reaches the greatness of some spoof comedies like Blazing Saddles and Spinal Tap. 

    The movie is full of puns, racism and silly gags. It doesn't go two seconds without throwing a joke out there. So its safe to say, you're not going to laugh at them all. The cast is decent, but Leslie Nielsen is the best reason to watch this movie. He makes it worth the watch just for his sheer presence. If he can make the awful Dracula: Dead and Loving It okay to watch; he sure as hell can make a decent one like Airplane easy to enjoy.

    Overall, I guess I had fun watching Airplane; it's just not something I see myself watching again. If I had watched it when it first came out, I probably would have loved it, but now 31 years later, it has obviously become a little dated.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 30, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Airplane is a classic, and every minute is a non stop laugh riot, I loved it.
  • ScoopOnline
    August 28, 2011
    ScoopOnline
    The Plane's going to Chicago. The Pilot's going to New York. The Passengers are going to Pieces!

    trivia::
    It's ironic that who directed Airplane! turned conservative after 9/11.
  • spielberg00
    August 6, 2011
    spielberg00
    "Surely you can't be serious!"
    "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
    This is by far Leslie Nielsen's best film.
  • erika250
    April 7, 2011
    erika250
    Airplane is about everyone on an airplane getting food poisoning. The pilot and other staff get food really sick. The only person that they could count on to land the plane is old army pilot that has mental issues. This film has really good plot and really good acting. I think t... read morehe spoof side of film was a perfect fit for these film that made this film really funny. If u wants a really good spoof film, give this film a try.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    April 6, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    In the history of comedy, there has been a few films that have stood out above all the rest due to the fact that the comedy is so original, risky or timeless. For example Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic film Dr Strangelove is timeless for a number of reasons, one of those reasons ... read morewas Peter Sellers' numerous hilarious performances. Another was the fact that the film was made at the height of the cold war. Airplane! is possibly the funniest, and best comedy since Dr Strangelove. The film parodies every airplane related disaster film in vivid detail. The cast are talented and bring out big laughs. Leslie Nielson himself was uproarious in his role. Lloyd Bridges as well stood out too. The rest of the cast do a fine job and are terrific. But Bridges and Nielson stole the show for me. Airplane! is by far the best parody film ever made. Films that came after it practically tried to rip off this classic with often very mediocre results. The thing with Airplane! is the jokes start comical, but as the film progresses, they become even more hilarious. Airplane! is a comedy classic and remains refreshing and funny to this day. The superb cast deliver something great on screen, something not seen since Dr Strangelove. Most films that have seeked to parody films have failed, but Airplane! succeeds in providing great laughs because the humour doesn't feel forced, it feels natural. With all the witty humour, it's no wonder why Airplane! is a classic of the genre. If you're looking for a terrific parody that actually is funny, then give this one a view. This film remains one of the best comedies ever made, and it's easy to see why.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    February 26, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"

    An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plane is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But do... read moren't call him Shirley.

    REVIEW

    They sure don't make comedies anymore like they used to. Airplane! is that quintessential must watch for any fan of the Abrahams-Zucker-Zucker brand of comedy, where they have perfected the art of punning and comedic irreverence, where everything and anything goes and you'll have to keep your eyes and ears peeled for the barrage of jokes, slapstick and punchlines that come in from the blind. Even after today this film still cracks me up for the countless of jokes from the get go.

    The crux of the story (yes there is one!) is the romantic dalliance between a cab driver and one time air force pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) who tries to reconcile with estranged girlfriend, stewardess Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty). Not taking no for an answer, he follows her onboard her flight to Chicago, and in between boring passengers with flashbacks to the good ol romantic days, his lack of confidence in flight gets called upon as all the pilots get put out of action through a bout of food poisoning.

    And it's a tremendously busy flight with a myriad of caricatures in the passengers that do things that are plain implausible it's funny. Not only that, we also get ground crew trying to guide the plane to touchdown at the airport, and one of the inane characters Johnny, played by Stephen Stucker, responsible for many of the literal comedic and nutcase moments. And of course there are famous names attached to the film such as Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves and even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the basketballer, all eyes are of course on Leslie Nielsen as the doctor on board Dr. Rumack, who immortalized the line "and don't call me Shirley", with his signature deadpan reaction, and who would go on following this film to make the Naked Gun series with the filmmakers here.

    The brand of comedy the Zucker brothers and Abrahams have given to the cinematic world is priceless and extremely hard to emulate, try as hard as some hacks in today's era would in choking their film with impersonators and spoofing modern pop culture, which gets so tired after a while. Even up until today the puns in Airplane! is rock solid, and will still get me, as always.
  • ajv2688
    January 10, 2011
    ajv2688
    The best spoof movie of the 80s, I think, it spoofs the disaster movies of the 70s. This is a hilarious comedy, and a classic, and I highly recommend it.

View All Airplane! Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
April 1, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

The gags aren't exactly clever, but there are a lot of them, and the cutting finds a fast, effective tempo. Full Review

James Berardinelli
April 1, 2008
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The fact that the movie doesn't work as well today as it did in 1980 in no way diminishes its importance in recent motion picture history. Full Review

Variety Staff
April 1, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

From the clever Jaws take-off opening to the final, irreverent title card, laughs come thick and fast. Full Review

Roger Ebert
December 6, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is sophomoric, obvious, predictable, corny, and quite often very funny. And the reason it's funny is frequently because it's sophomoric, predictable, corny, etc. Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Airplane! is more than a pleasant surprise, in the midst of this dim movie season. As a remedy for the bloated self-importance of too many other current efforts, it's just what the doctor ordered. Full Review

R. L. Shaffer
January 29, 2012
R. L. Shaffer, IGN DVD

Charmingly dated, but still immeasurably funny. Full Review

Elliot Panek
January 1, 2011
Elliot Panek, Common Sense Media

Rapid-fire parody aimed squarely at teen boys. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
August 17, 2010
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A hyper spoof of disaster films. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
March 15, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Entering imto Mel Brooks' turf, the first lampoon of the disaster-in-the-air subgenre (such as the prepoterously Oscar nominated Airport) is silly but funny, with many good sight gags, campy one-liner... Full Review

Josh Larsen
September 22, 2008
Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm

Most of the jokes are groan-worthy, and some are downright racist. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious!
    • Dr. Rumack: I am sure. And don't call me Sherly
    • Kramer: No... that's just what they'll be expecting us to do!
    • Dr. Rumack: I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.
    • Dr. Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.
    • Capt. Oveur: Joey, have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?
    • Capt. Oveur: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
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