The Quarantine Stream: ‘Airplane!’ Is Still Incredibly Hilarious After 40 Years
Posted on Sunday, August 16th, 2020 by Ethan Anderton
(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Movie: Airplane!
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: With a plot and characters borrowed from the 1957 film Zero Hour!, this classic spoof takes aim at disaster movies like Airport 1975 and the sequels that followed, along with the Airport franchise. Ted Striker is an ex-pilot with a drinking problem and post-traumatic stress disorder who tries to repair a failing relationship by following his airplane stewardess girlfriend on her flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. But when food poisoning strikes the passengers and crew, Ted has to suck up his fear and insecurities to land the plane and save everyone on board.
Why It’s Essential Viewing: The spoof film is a dying artform, but in the 1970s and 1980s, some of the best comedies were parodies. That’s largely thanks to the work of director Mel Brooks, the improv troupe of Monty Python, and the filmmaking trio of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker). It’s the latter who made Airplane!, the parody that not only remains funny to this day, but is still hilarious even if you haven’t seen the movies it’s spoofing. Read More »
