Airplane! (1980)

 

Airplane! isn't always to my taste, but damn is it funny. The story follows ex-fighter-pilot Ted Striker, who suffers from PTSD and is now afraid to fly. Still, when his girlfriend Elaine, a flight attendant, dumps him just before boarding a flight from LA to Chicago, he throws caution to the wind and goes after her.

A little while into the flight, however, it is discovered by one of the passengers, a Dr. Rumack, that the food served for dinner on the plane has caused food poisoning in the crew and many of the passengers. While the airplane's built-in autopilot (a blowup doll named Otto) can get the plane safely to Chicago, he is unable to land it. Elaine convinces Ted to face his fears and land the plane, which he manages to do.

It's a relatively straightforward plot, and what makes this film stand out is the comedic interludes between the major events and the sheer hilarity of the dialogue. The film has an almost Mel-Brooks-ian vibe to it, though the humor is frequently corny and jejeune...and honestly, that's what makes it so much fun!

Why is Airplane! on the National Film Registry?

Airplane! was inducted to the National Film Registry in 2010, and in my unprofessional opinion, there are two big overlapping factors that make it Registry-worthy.

First, this film came out in 1980, on the heels of a decade packed to bursting with major disaster movies that were known for their serious tone and often formulaic nature (think of The Poseidon Adventure, the Airport series of films, and The China Syndrome). 

By the end of the 1970s, critics and audiences alike were more than burned out on these films and their tropes, and Airplane! was a welcome tonic. It spoofed disaster films so well and brought some much-needed silliness and humor to the genre.

The second reason I see for Airplane! to be worthy of a spot on the National Film Registry is the number of boundaries it tested with its humor. The Hays Code had ruled Hollywood for decades, but by the late 1960s, its influence had largely faded. Films like Bonnie and Clyde thoroughly challenged the Code's authority, and Hays came up lacking. By the 1970s, the Code had completely collapsed, and filmmakers and moviegoers alike were interested in pushing the envelope.

Enter Airplane!.

Airplane! is far from an exploitation film, but it also does not shy away from exploiting edgy humor. Profanity, drugs, illicit sexual practices—everything is on the table. The secret, which Airplane! knows, is not to dwell on these specific types of jokes. They are quick, sometimes throwaway instances of humor that take you by surprise and disappear the moment you blink. It's magic.

Side note: I feel like a lot of contemporary films don't understand this, the idea that sophomoric hijinks can be used to great effect if they are used strategically and sparingly. I'm far from a prude, but I do think a lot of modern films rely far too heavily on references to bodily excretions and sex, simply because it's an easy laugh for a lot of people.

But this doesn't challenge viewers, and it leads to movies equivalent to that one guy you used to sit next to in high school biology class who thought the fact that the teacher said "penis" during sex ed was downright hilarious and would not let it go until graduation. Nobody wants to be that guy.

But I digress. *Gets down off soapbox.*

In conclusion

This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. So why, you ask, is it not rated as a Highly Recommend or a Camille's Picks? For me, it comes down to the illicit humor. I think it is used extremely well and to great effect, but some of the jokes (particularly the drug-related humor) are hard for me (drugs give me the highest level of ick, no matter how amusingly they are used in a film). 

That being said, I rank this as high as possible in the Would Watch Again category for my own taste, and if I were recommending funny, low-investment movies to someone, this would definitely be high on the list. Worth watching, and I would certainly watch it again.