Airplane!
Identification Disaster film spoof
Directors Jim Abrahams (1944- ), David
Zucker (1947- ), Jerry Zucker (1950- )
Date Released July 2, 1980
Airplane!gleefully attacked the underlying Hollywood
conventions of narrative realism in addition to parodying
specific cinematic genres. Its success confirmed the box-
office potential of such spoofs.
Written and directed by the team of Jim Abrahams,
David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker,Airplane!was a com-
edy hit. The movie is a parody of airplane disaster
movies from the 1970’s, such asAirport(1970) and
Airport 1975(1974). Though most viewers at the time
recognized those references, the movie actually uses
the 1957 movieZero Hourfor most of its source mate-
rial and plot. A young man who flew a disastrous mis-
sion in a war has to take over as pilot for a commercial
jetliner when the crew succumbs to food poisoning.
Though the plot is potentially serious, the movie’s
handling of the material embraces an over-the-top co-
medic approach. The movie fills almost every minute
of screen time with some type of joke. These range
from offbeat visual images, such as a ticket for a seat in
the plane’s smoking section (a “smoking ticket”) ac-
tually smoking, to stupid verbal jokes like “Surely you
can’t be serious!” “I am serious...anddon’t call me
Shirley.” “Don’t call me Shirley”
became one of the many running
gags used throughout the movie.
Viewers also enjoyed catching ref-
erences to a variety of other movies
throughout the film such asJaws
(1975) and Saturday Night Fever
(1977).
The movie starred Robert Hays
and Julie Haggerty as the young
pilot and the stewardess who must
overcome their relationship prob-
lems and past history to land the
plane safely. However, the movie
also had an all-star list of actors
known for their dramatic roles,
particularly on television. Lloyd
Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert
Stack, and Leslie Nielsen all had
prominent roles in the film, and
part of the movie’s humor was see-
ing these serious actors doing comedy and making
fun of themselves. The movie created a new career
for Leslie Nielsen, who went on to star in the parody
television seriesPolice Squadand the spin-offNaked
Gunmovies. Los Angeles Lakers basketball star
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also starred as the co-pilot—
and broke character during the movie to play him-
self playing the co-pilot.
Impact Airplane!established a viable market for
outrageous parodies that made fun of specific mov-
ies or genres while also rejecting any semblance of
realism. The trend continued with movies such as
Top Secret!(1984),The Naked Gun: From the Files of
Police Squad!(1988),Scar y Movie(2000), and others.
The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe
Award in the best musical or comedy category and
won a Writer’s Guild of America Award for Best
Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium. In
2000, members of the American Film Institute voted
Airplane!as number ten on the list of the one hun-
dred funniest movies of the twentieth century. In
2005, the American Film Institute also voted the
“Don’t call me Shirley” line number seventy-nine of
the one hundred best movie quotes.
Further Reading
Gehring, Wes D.Parody as Film Genre: “Never Give a
Saga an Even Break.”Westport, Conn.: Greenwood
Press, 1999.50 Airplane! The Eighties in America
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, left, and Peter Graves in a scene fromAirplane! (AP/Wide
World Photos)