There’s a significant difference between applying the description of layered to a drama and comedy. In the case of the former it implies multiple levels of meaning and depth of character motivations, but for the latter it’s about how much is happening in one scene and the number of punchlines to a joke. By that standard, Airplane! is a layered comedy, perhaps one of the most layered there is or ever was. Maybe Hollywood will never do it again, because Airplane! is a unique brand of comedy that Hollywood just doesn’t do well anymore. If you’re not paying attention to everything going on in a given scene of Airplane!, chances are you’re missing quite a few jokes. Even if you are paying attention to it all, you’re probably going to miss something and thus Airplane! belongs to that rare breed of comedies that not only rewards multiple viewings, it requires it if you ever want to truly appreciate it for all its greatness.
Ever since the war, pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) has had a deadly fear of flying, but if boarding the plane stewarded by flight attendant Elaine (Julie Hagerty), his newfound ex, is the only way to win her back, he’ll do it. Amidst countless flashbacks to the good ol’ days with Elaine, the flight proceeds smoothly with guitar sing-alongs, confusing namesakes in the cabin, jive, and not so subtly veiled hints at pedophilia, but when a severe case of food poisoning incapacitates the pilots, someone has to step up and lead the plane back to safety. Surely Ted is the man for the job.
What would Airplane! be without comedy legends Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges, the face of zany slapstick comedies for three decades straight. Nielsen’s knack for the deadpan presentation of absurd situations made him one of the best screen personalities of film and an absolute must for casting if you had your heart set on madcap comedy. When paired with the writing and director of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, the man became an unstoppable juggernaut of laughter. Then there’s Lloyd Bridges, who consistently played the inept man in charge that no real person could ever take seriously. Airplane! is one of his best comedy performances ever in terms of staging and nuance, as his every gesture and inflection make his delivery priceless.
The writing team of Abrahams and the two Zuckers gave us some of the greatest comedies of the 80s and sitting atop that list is Airplane! Here is a film that plays on all levels of comedy. It has physical and verbal comedy, and it unleashes it at such a pace as to give the audience little time to recover between jokes. What might be the most integral part of Airplane!’s comic success is the decade in which it was made. It was an age when political correct paranoia hadn’t swept the nation and so wildly inappropriate jokes made it through. You couldn’t make Airplane! or Blazing Saddles today and so it’s doubtful we’ll ever see a film that streams jokes with such reckless abandon. The closest thing in recent memory was BASEketball featuring Matt Stone and Trey Parker, but, surprise surprise, guess who that was written by (hint: it’s not Stone and Parker).
Airplane! doesn’t benefit much from the Blu-ray treatment and it’s worth considering that an upscaled DVD might prove just as rewarding a viewing experience. The picture is crystal clear but the film’s imagery never stretches the boundaries of film visuals and even the level of detail in close-up shots fails to impress. It’s a great film, it’s just not HD friendly.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The audio commentary packs quite a few laughs thanks to writers and directors Jim Abraham, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker talking with Producer Jon Davison about the ridiculous things they came up with to push the envelope further and further. After that, the extras aren’t too impressive and consist of nothing more than deleted scenes, a few cast interviews, a trailer, and a pop-up trivia track for the film.
"Airplane!" is on sale September 27, 2011 and is rated PG. Comedy. Directed by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams. Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hays, Lloyd Bridges, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves.
