“Joey, have you ever been inside a Turkish prison?”
With its strange but effective hilarity, Abrahams and the Zucker brothers came out of the comedy gates swinging for the fences with this still-heralded disaster parody. As a directorial debut and an acting breakout for stars Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays, it’s clear Airplane! had a magic about it. Looking at any list of the top comedies or even the top-rated movies after 1980, it’s not hard to find Airplane! amongst the greats for its hefty comedic impact on cinema history. As further proof, Airplane! was selected in 2010 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Abrahams N. Zuckers
After starting a theatre group in 1971, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and David Zucker (eventually to be known as Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker or ZAZ), their passion for comedy drew them to what would be their first directorial project. Using late-night television to scan for ideas and inspiration, they stumbled upon the 1957 airplane thriller, Zero Hour! Since they found the film to be “perfectly classically structured,” the three designed a parody of the movie, using much of the film’s narrative bones to build their own version of it. Then, with their writing success on John Landis’ Kentucky Fried Movie, a deal was struck with Paramount to create Airplane!.
For their casting, Abrahams and the Zuckers sought actors outside comedy to be able to play this crazy narrative more straight, thus emphasizing the comedy within. Casting brought in Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Julie Hagerty, and Robert Hays, all of whom had never done comedy and some who hadn’t even done feature films before. Though it might’ve seemed a risk, all you need to do is watch the movie to see how perfectly this troupe commits to the bit and keeps you laughing.
While there may have been some rights issues regarding its similarities to Zero Hour! along with its proximity to the much more serious release of Airport in the same year, it’s a miracle this came to be. After filming, the directing trio asked to be credited under the shared pseudonym, “Abraham N. Zuckers”, but the Directors Guild had a rule against allowing three directors for one film. Thankfully, they were all eventually credited properly.
“No, I’ve been nervous lots of times.”
Abrahams and the Zuckers managed to create this timelessly classic comedic feel all while coming from the voices of a younger generation of filmmakers and writers. They also found a clever utilization for some older talent, placing them in a new genre for them to flourish. The prime example comes with Leslie Nielsen, who would go on to comedic fame with the Zucker brothers as Police Squad Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun movies and more. It’s within these unforgettable performances that the pure wit of the writing comes out to make this so easy to constantly laugh along to. Some references may be dated by now coming on forty-five years later, but so much remains both a fantastic snapshot of the 80s as well as maintaining a timeless hilarity that any generation can access and enjoy.
“I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley.”
Though it seems the directors and producers were a bit reluctant on release due to some tepid test screenings, relief must’ve flooded in as audiences welcomed this new comedy. On its opening in June of 1980, Airplane! made back its roughly $3.5 million budget within the first five days of its release. And while it may not have gone on to spawn a fully successful comedy franchise, the legacy and influence of this classic parody can be seen all over.
Movies like this, Blazing Saddles, and The Naked Gun stoked a fire of parody comedy that became rampant once the 2000s came around. Scary Movie was a strong addition, but eventually we’d see the unfortunate likes of Superhero Movie, Disaster Movie, Vampires Suck, Meet the Spartans, and countless more.
By that point, the success came solely in terms of quantity and was far from quality. Crass and over-sexualized jokes overtook the clever wit and creative absurdity of the origin points. The question shifted from “How can we make this funny?” into “How much can we make funny?”. Though the more recent Naked Gun reboot seems to be moving us closer to the right track, it’s hard to imagine we’ll ever get something as magical and as damn funny as Airplane! again.
Remaining as a potential peak for both quotable movies and comedy movies, Airplane! thankfully isn’t going away anytime soon. Later this year, it’s worth noting that Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays will be touring along with the movie for screenings around the US, keeping the love and tradition of the beloved comedy alive and well. And for those filmmakers looking to continue in this wake of brilliant comedy, I just want to tell you good luck. We’re all counting on you…
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