AIRPLANE! (1980) Movie Reaction! | First Time Watch! | Robert Hays | Leslie Nielsen | Julie Hagerty
Reviewers Deconstruct the Timeless Literal Comedy of Airplane!
Discover why Airplane! defined literal comedy through its absurd gags and unwavering commitment to deadpan delivery. Learn which specific elements make this 1980 classic consistently hilarious decades later.
Short Summary
- Honor the committed performances where actors treat absurdity as absolute reality.
- Recognize the movie’s pioneering role in deadpan, trope-mocking, and hyper-literal comedy.
- Note the shocking amount of mature content slipped past the surprisingly lenient 1980 PG rating.
This reaction captures a deep dive into the classic spoof Airplane!, focusing on how the film’s humor relies on taking every standard piece of film dialogue and genre cliché completely literally. The hosts marvel at the detailed commitment the cast maintains, even when faced with visual gags like smoking tickets or inflatable pilots, showcasing why this style of anti-humor remains effective today.
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Top Comments (10)
The longest running joke in the movie is the background noise of the engine's propellers. It is a jet engine plane.
Barbara Billingsley was the old lady speaking jive. She played the mother in the 1950's TV series "Leave It to Beaver", and was the epitome TV mom of the perfect, all white, American nuclear family, which is why this scene is so great. This movie revived her career. The producers initially offered the bit role to Harriet Nelson (another white TV mom from the 50's). She turned the role down, then after the success of the movie (featuring Barbara), she allegedly said it was the biggest mistake she ever made.
The White Zone and Red Zone PA announcers were the actual PA announcers for LA International Airport, and they were married in real life.
I love that someone finally recognized Jimmie Walker aka JJ Evans!😃
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit watching Airplane! reactions.
They knew Ethel Mermen!?!? 👍
You both saying "Kareem!" at the same has got to be an all-time highlight from the 8 million reactions I've watched. Cool to see not one, but both guys know who he is.
The beach scene is a parody of the movie, "From Here to Eternity".
"It's a whole different way of flying...altogether" All together: "It's a whole different way of flying"
This movie was revolutionary cause those older actors were only ever in serious dramas so people had never seen them in a comedy like this. Also the man who checks the microwave was Mike from Breaking Bad.
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Top Comments (10)
The longest running joke in the movie is the background noise of the engine's propellers. It is a jet engine plane.
Barbara Billingsley was the old lady speaking jive. She played the mother in the 1950's TV series "Leave It to Beaver", and was the epitome TV mom of the perfect, all white, American nuclear family, which is why this scene is so great. This movie revived her career. The producers initially offered the bit role to Harriet Nelson (another white TV mom from the 50's). She turned the role down, then after the success of the movie (featuring Barbara), she allegedly said it was the biggest mistake she ever made.
The White Zone and Red Zone PA announcers were the actual PA announcers for LA International Airport, and they were married in real life.
I love that someone finally recognized Jimmie Walker aka JJ Evans!😃
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit watching Airplane! reactions.
They knew Ethel Mermen!?!? 👍
You both saying "Kareem!" at the same has got to be an all-time highlight from the 8 million reactions I've watched. Cool to see not one, but both guys know who he is.
The beach scene is a parody of the movie, "From Here to Eternity".
"It's a whole different way of flying...altogether" All together: "It's a whole different way of flying"
This movie was revolutionary cause those older actors were only ever in serious dramas so people had never seen them in a comedy like this. Also the man who checks the microwave was Mike from Breaking Bad.