Airplane!

Several months ago, I set out on a project to watch all the AIRPORT movies, followed by the AIRPLANE! movies. I always knew that AIRPLANE! was funny, but I was interested to learn how much of it was a direct satire of AIRPORT and its descendents and how much of it was original comedy.

It turns out that while AIRPLANE! does mock many of the AIRPORT films’ iconic moments, much of its comedy is refreshingly original. With its 2 jokes / minute pace, it needs more material than even four AIRPORT movies can provide. AIRPLANE! mocks religions, cultural imperialism, disco, great films, and the aviation industry itself. It’s great fun, and it kept (the older members of) my family laughing from beginning to end.

Ineterestingly, AIRPLANE garnered a PG rating even though it boasts a fair helping of sexual innuendo, drug jokes, nudity, and profanity. Today, I think this film would merit a solid R. How did we allow our society to become more restrictive in the last 29 years?