by As a lifelong comedy fan, I consider Airplane! to be one of the funniest films ever made. When Pink called it the funniest movie of all time in an interview with The Telegraph back in 2012, I couldn’t have agreed more. Even now, over 40 years since its release in 1980, Airplane! stands out as a landmark comedy that set the standard for spoof films to follow.
In the interview, Pink praised Airplane! for its slapstick humor and iconic performances. She’s absolutely right – the movie is chock full of ridiculous visual gags and over-the-top acting that perfectly parodies the disaster films popular at the time like Airport. Every scene contains some silly joke or absurd situation, expertly delivered by Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty and the rest of the cast. No matter how many times I watch it, I still laugh until it hurts at gags like the air traffic controllers hitting themselves in the head with traffic noise toys, or the blow-up pilot doll flopping around the cockpit.
Part of what makes Airplane! truly iconic is the way it takes the straightforward disaster movie plot and turns it upside down into an entirely farcical situation. In the world of Airplane!, it makes total sense for the pilots, crew, and control tower staff to be totally incompetent, forcing traumatized war veteran Ted Striker to land the plane himself. The humor comes from the serious way the absurd premise and ridiculous events are presented, with perfect deadpan delivery of some of the most quoted one-liners in comedy. “Surely you can’t be serious” “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley” – no matter how many times I hear it, I still crack up.
While the freewheeling slapstick and visual gags make me laugh every time, some of the main reasons Airplane! stands the test of time so well are the strength of the writing and performances. Writers and directors David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker crafted a rapid-fire gag-fest where there’s barely time to recover from laughing before you get hit with the next joke. The tone is set right at the start, with the famous opening credits that parody the spectacle of 70s disaster films with “And introducing Otto Pilot” flashing on the screen as a commercial airliner crashes behind a small child with a fishing rod.
Leslie Nielsen’s career-defining deadpan performance as Dr. Rumack is another huge part of the appeal. Lines like “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley” sound even funnier delivered in Nielsen’s completely earnest baritone. We, as the audience, feel like we’re in on the joke on because we can see he’s in a comedy while Nielsen himself plays Rumack completely straight. This winking irony is a huge part of the comedic formula that works so well.
The same principle applies to Robert Hays as shell-shocked pilot Ted Striker – amidst the sea of crazies and sight gags on the plane, he believably plays his character as the lone straight man trying against all odds to land the plane safely. Hays’ ability to ground the movie with a performance that feels real just allows the absurdity happening around him to come off as even funnier.
Of course, no discussion of Airplane!’s iconic performances would be complete without mentioning the versatile Leslie Nielsen’s second role in drag as the deadpan Dr. Rumack. The gray wig, sensible cardigan and pearl necklace disguise is absurd enough, but Nielsen’s commitment to playing her as dryly as Rumack just heightens the ridiculousness. I lose it every time Rumack does a double take and says “what’s your name?” “Murdock, Captain Clarence Oveur”. The fact that he takes it in such matter-of-fact deadpan just makes the visual gag even funnier.
The cast is uniformly excellent, loaded with veterans like Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, and Robert Stack spoofing their own serious images. But Julie Hagerty more than holds her own as straight-laced flight attendant Elaine Dickinson, especially during hilarious scenes like her off-key “nervous breakdown” rendition of “River of Jordan”. Her funny, flipped reactions to the nonsense happening around her make for an endearing comedic performance.
Most of all, I appreciate that almost every line in Airplane! is a joke punchline. The Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team crafted a screenplay so economical that virtually every line or visual furthers the comedy in some way. Even the many blink-and-you’ll miss-it visual gags add up, like passengers on the plane reading magazines called Modern Sperm and Modern Sperm and highlighting every passage. Unlike some comedies that wind on too long and run out of steam, Airplane! maintains a rapid-fire pace and hit to laugh ratio throughout its 88 minute runtime, with a funny new gag around every corner.
This machine-gun paced absurdity culminates in the final 20 minutes, where Airplane! piles on one huge visual punchline after another. Sight gags like the blow up autopilot doll, Striker mouthing “I love you” through the control room glass, Rumack requesting “another cup of coffee” as chaos unfolds, and the iconic crowd lineup ending with Otto the inflatable pilot are seared in my memory. For my money, the “I picked the wrong week to quit…” running joke reaches its peak with Lloyd Bridges snorting glue before making one final landing. Even the end credits keep the jokes rolling, with outtakes like Hays pretending to surf a wave during the blowjob scene interspersed throughout.
With its breakneck pace, endlessly quotable dialogue, career-defining performances, and masterful grasp of parody, it’s no wonder Airplane! is regarded as one of the funniest films of all time over 40 years later. Every time I watch it, I’m amazed at what a Swiss watch-precise comedy machine it is, with every line and scene calculated for maximum laughs. For my money, the best comedies work almost like magic tricks, utilizing skillful misdirection and showmanship to delight the audience. On that front, Airplane! is a masterwork – a comedy clinic that established the template for parody films and inspired a generation of funny films to follow.
When Pink singled out Airplane! as “the funniest movie of all time”, I think she recognized what comedy fans appreciate about it. The Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team didn’t just make people laugh, they advanced the art of comedy filmmaking with Airplane!, perfecting concepts like the parody, the straight man/wacky character dynamic, and rapid-fire gag rhythm that remain potent comedy devices. Decades later, the movie still elicits belly laughs from audiences thanks to jokes and performances that stand the test of time. For any fan of comedy, Airplane! is must-see material.
Even those not typically drawn to spoof comedies should give Airplane! a chance, because they may be surprised at how clever the gags are. Unlike some parodies that just recreate scenes from other movies, Airplane! crafts completely original absurdist situations. And unlike some spoofs that essentially just string together pop culture references, Airplane!’s jokes are character-driven and story-based, making them more substantial. The incredible cast sells the material brilliantly, never coming across as excessively campy or cartoonish.
Airplane! has become the benchmark I measure other spoof comedies against. Very few since have matched its breakneck pacing, joke writing quality, cast chemistry, and timeless relevance. For myself and Pink, that enduring legacy and ability to still make audiences laugh uncontrollably is why Airplane! deserves its status as arguably the funniest movie ever made. Any time I need a dose of belly laughs, it remains one of my comedy go-tos. I envy those getting to experience Airplane! for the first time, since I’d do anything to relive watching Otto the inflatable autopilot navigate the plane again with fresh eyes. It’s a true testament to the zany genius of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker that 40 years later, Airplane! can still fly circles around most other comedy films.
