46 Years Later, David Zucker Still Makes Me Laugh Out Loud | #471 | The Way I Heard It

I saw Airplane when I was a senior in high school and thought it was the funniest movie I’d ever seen. My date, however, didn’t laugh at all. Not even once. Not even when the Japanese soldier stabbed himself to death, rather than listen to Ted Striker drone on and on about his broken heart. Afterwards, she looked at me like I was an alien. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “How was any of that funny?” In her defense, there were others in the theater who didn’t get it, several of whom left early. But there were many others like me who stayed to watch it again. So, my date left me in the theater and spent the next two hours shopping in the mall, while I laughed even harder the second time around. “Tell me Johnny, have you ever seen a grown man naked?” "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!” And this gem, perhaps the greatest exchange in the history of cinema, between two very sophisticated 10-year old Caucasians dressed like adults. Boy: Coffee? Girl: Please. Boy: Cream? Girl: No, I take it black. Like my men. Later, in the food court, I bought my date a slice of pizza, but it was too late. The damage had been done. “I can’t believe you’d rather sit there alone and watch that stupid movie again instead of spending time with me. “Surely,” she said, “you not that much of an idiot.” “Don’t be too sure,” I said. “And stop calling me Shirley.” That was our last date, obviously, thanks to David Zucker, the man who wrote and directed this ridiculously silly film along with Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker. Since its release, Airplane! is now considered one of the greatest comedy films ever made, inspiring numerous references, homages, and further parodies in popular culture. It ranked sixth on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. In a 2007 survey in the United Kingdom, it was judged the second-greatest comedy of all time, behind Monty Python's Life of Brian. In 2008, it was selected by Empire magazine as one of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, and in 2012 it was voted number one on the 50 Funniest Comedies Ever poll. In 2010, Airplane! was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, proving once and for all that my date had no sense of humor. What an honor to interview David Zucker, 46 years later. And what a relief, to learn that he can still make me laugh... A special thanks to: ZipRecruiter—four out of five people who post a job will find a quality candidate in 24 hours or less. Post a job for FREE at ziprecruiter.com/rowe #podcast #movie #comedy If you like me, and even if you don't, subscribe to my channels and follow me. Much obliged. https://www.youtube.com/@therealmikerowe https://www.youtube.com/@therealmikeroweshorts https://www.youtube.com/@PYSKshow http://instagram.com/mikerowe http://facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe https://twitter.com/mikeroweworks 00:00 Why David Zucker started comedy 06:00 Breaking down the jokes in Airplane! 12:13 How to be funny 16:41 South Park's satire 23:14 This joke came from an actor 27:56 The art of outrageous gags 33:18 Why The Babylon Bee is successful 37:38 How 9/11 impacted David 42:22 Family Guy vs. South Park 47:07 David’s visit to the White House 51:52 Carson's comedy style 58:12 David’s love for Davy Crockett 01:02:40 The LA fires 01:07:45 David’s MasterCrash 01:12:12 Comedy's evolution 01:21:30 My beef bouillon prank