Intro:

“I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley!”

A tainted airline meal sends the entire crew of a dysfunctional passenger jet and threatens to send the entire plane to a fiery doom. It’s up to one man and a doctor on board to save the plane and everyone’s lives. It won’t happen before some interesting events, such as a fight with the autopilot.

Dialogue:

The lines in Airplane are more than funny; they surpass hilarious! There were tons of original jokes and comments that are still synonymous with the movie today. The one almost everyone has heard and recognizes is the scene between the doctor and the passenger-turned-pilot:

“Surely you can’t be serious?”
“I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley!”

The script was perfect for Nielsen, who specializes in delivering sophomoric humor and zinging one-liners.

Acting:

With such a great script, there needs to be a cast to perform it, and the actors in Airplane really earned their paychecks. Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and even a cameo appearance by NBA star Kareem Abdul Jabbar made the cast one of a kind.

Come to think of it, most all of Leslie Nielsen’s performances are classics, both comedic and more serious roles, from Creepshow to The Naked Gun. He really makes any movie he stars in a pleasure to watch.

Plot:

Big originality points here: how many movies (especially pre 9/11) have been based in/around a single airplane? Sure, there have been tons of war movies with planes, but Airplane focuses on a solitary jet in some pretty wild circumstances. Ranging from food poisoning to dating, there was a whole lot of stuff going on in that cramped plane.

The action in the airport is worth noting; you can buy time bombs at the convenience store, pass through security that’s tough on the elderly but lax on terrorists, and parking planes through walls are just a few of the things you don’t see in the airport today.

Music:

The music in Airplane fit in quite well with the action. The use of the themes to highlight the ominous events on the plane were really great. Other than that, there really wasn’t a lot of music in the movie, which is fine considering that there was so much dialogue that made up for little background music.

Overall:

This is an incredibly funny movie, and is worth watching anytime. Leslie Nielsen once again proves to be a master of comedy and a great entertainer with Airplane. I want to have a SquidFlicks Movie Marathon of the Leslie Nielsen movies some time…*hint hint*

Trailer:

Purchase:

Airplane DVD @ Amazon.com

• Tags: cameos, comedy, leslie nielsen, marathon ideas