What's our vector Victor? (Airplane! (DVD))

Member Name: ben_83

Product:	Airplane! (DVD)
Date:	08/02/01 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant slapstick and surreal comedy

Disadvantages: Some slow parts, not as slick as the 'Naked Gun' series

Ah, the 'Airport' films. Standbys of Sunday afternoons on ITV and loved by all those people who are so bored they'll watch anything that's on. There's a nice, safe, familiar predictability about those films, similar to that of 'Casualty'. Just as you know that the guy who reassures his wife that he doesn't need to check a wiring plan before he drills a hole in the wall is going to get electrocuted, you know the planes in the 'Airport' movies are doomed.

Let's face it, the 'Airport' movies were ripe for a spoof and who better than the Abrahams, Zucker and Zucker partnership (who went on to create the excellent 'Naked Gun' trilogy) to make it.

First of all, if you don't like slapstick, avoid this movie like the plague. However, if you do, rejoice. There are so many classic slapstick moments in 'Airplane!'. For example, when the plane leaves the runway the pilots (called Roger, Victor and Clarence) are going through their takeoff routine and saying 'Roger, Roger', 'What's our vector Victor?' and 'Do we have clearance Clarence?'. This is top stuff but there's more. An ace airline trouble-shooter is called in to help a passenger land the plane over the radio. He walks into the control room purposefully and, in a truly macho way, whips off his sunglasses only to reveal another pair underneath.

As well as the slapstick, 'Airplane!' also has a surreal aspect to it that is not in evidence in the 'Naked Gun' films. When a young boy enters the cockpit to talk to the crew, the pilot asks him things like, 'Say Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?' and 'Do ever hang around outside the gymnasium?' for no reason but the delivery is so good and the questions so unexpected that it's still hilarious. The flashbacks of the veteran of an unspecified war are also pretty surreal but equally funny.

Unfortunate
ly, the film is not perfect. Unlike the 'Naked Gun' series, 'Airplane!' tends to blow hot and cold. While the jokes that are there are hilarious and there's certainly not a lack of them, there are times in the film where they are a bit thin on the ground. Also, Leslie Nielsen is strangely subdued. Perhaps it's because 'Airplane!' is pre-'Naked Gun' and he didn't have his style honed but it?s frustrating when you know he can be so much better.

While, 'Airplane!' is not as good as the first two 'Naked Gun' films, it's still an excellent comedy (and much better than anything that's been made in the last few years) and worth watching, even if it is a bit raw. I'm torn between giving this film four or five stars - if I could, I'd give it four and a half. Damn Dooyoo.

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