Roger Victor, Over

I am ashamed of myself that it took me all 31 years of my existence for me to finally see Airplane!  It is a revered classic in every sense of the word.  I am so very glad that I own one of the funniest movies of all time.

Airplane! Is the story of a man who is afraid to fly that has to land a plane safely after people on the plane become sick.  It is one of those movies that made me laugh so hard that I began to feel faint.  The scene where Robert Stack is karate-chopping all the people at the airport had me rolling on the floor.  It was so much fun to be reminded of the good old days when spoofs were actually funny.

This movie is stacked with a great cast, but it just would not be fair if I did not talk about Leslie Nielsen.  Often referred to as the “King of Spoofs”, Leslie Nielsen was one of the funniest comedic actors and he was someone that I greatly admired.  At times, he is the funniest actor in this movie.  I was truly heartbroken when he passed away, and I still miss him greatly to this day.

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker directed Airplane!  Some would think that a 90 minute movie full of gags (some that repeat themselves) would get tiresome and boring, but this movie made it work to near-perfection.  The directors really understood the comedic timing of the actors.  The really funny thing about this movie is that there are some jokes that, while funny in 1980, would be downright offensive today.

I am convinced that the day of the spoof is dead.  While I did have a fantastic time watching Airplane!, it also made me think of how low the genre has sunk.  Airplane! is one of the funniest movies ever.  Do not wait over 30 years to see it like I did!