Rousing slapstick comedy (Airplane! (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Airplane! (DVD)
Date:	12/09/09 (5 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great cast and concept

Disadvantages: Too silly for some?

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room

Airplane belongs to that classic league of comedy films that's simply unbeatable and utterly timeless in its delivery. David Zucker really is a legend of comedy, and proves it here with a film that would allow him to graduate to the arguably just as great Naked Gun series, starring comic legend Leslie Nielsen.

That said, slapstick obviously isn't for everyone - it's often quite simply and bombastic, and not particularly subtle, but that accounts for most of the film's charm. Perhaps most famous is the film's inflatable "auto pilot", but there are numerous other memorable sight gags, and some completely frenzied performances that really help, particularly from Lloyd Bridges as a crazed air traffic controller. The film revolves around an airport where everything's going wrong, and a crack airline helper is called in to help a passenger land a plane that finds itself without a pilot.

It's not that Airplane hits every time - in fact, it does miss quite often - but it really nails a style of comedy that's just not really around anymore, and makes one wish for the Marx Brothers to pop back to life and start performing their routines again. Some of the jokes are quite corny though, so I can see them deterring some audiences, but again this is a lot of their charm - they'll make you laugh, with an indellible grin, but at the same time, they can be a little cringeable. I don't think it's quite as good as the first Naked Gun film, but it's still laugh out loud hilarious, and a look at a genre that's sadly going down the pan these days.

Likely too dry for many newcomers, but this is nonetheless highly amusing stuff.

Summary: A daft but hilarious outing