'Airplane!' has been a film I've watched many a time in my life. Even watching it as a teenager, I knew it was a special film. I didn't care that it was an “older” film, the humor and gags throughout always resonated with me. The added bonus of a story with this type of film, even if it is absurd, stuck with me. Amidst all the, admittedly awful, parody movies that have saturated the world of film since the early 2000s, 'Airplane!' was always a movie you can go back watch and just plain laugh. Plus, Leslie Nielsen is apart of this. Really that could be reason enough to watch.
'Airplane!' Follows the story of Ted Striker, Elaine Dickinson, Dr. Rumack, pilot Clarence Ovuer, co- pilot Rodger Murdoch and tower supervisor Steve McCroskey. Elaine is a stewardess on a flight heading to Chicago that Ted boards, in an attempt to win her back.  During the flight, passengers who had the in-flight fish meal begin to get sick, including the flight crew, and the plane must now be emergency landed. It's up to Ted, Elaine and Dr. Rumack to keep the plane calm and eventually, land safely.
The directing trio of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker may be credited for guiding this film to the the iconic satirical comedy film that it's thought of as. You have a phenomenal cast including Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Nielsen. These three also bring out the best of basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and lets be honest, not big name stars Robert Hayes and Julie Hagerty. Everybody did well, and not a minute goes by in which there isn't a laugh out loud moment. Not only did this trio direct, they also wrote the film. A comedy film through and through, this film is full of running gags, one liners and slapstick humor. 'Airplane!' also has a surprising amount of back-story and character development for a film like it is.  The flashbacks involving Ted and Elaine are done surprisingly well too. The air of humor is still there, but the amount of development regarding Ted's struggles with the war, and their relationship itself is all done well. All of this is a running theme throughout the film. It's almost formulaic, to the point where you're expecting to get a ton of gags and jokes, packed in between each flashback.
The setting adds to everything happening, as aside from the flashbacks I've been going on about, the comedy is confined to an airplane and an airplane tower. The lack of diversity in the main portions of the film, could been seen as a deterrent, but not to me. I think the gags and humor are spot on. Everyone gets into their roles and makes the plane almost another character in this awesome world. There doesn't seem to be too many long shots, lighting to make a point (unless you count lighting striking a few times after a line) or abnormal editing techniques. Breaking the fourth wall early on, is absolutely great in this, because it sets to tone where you're never gonna take this film too seriously.
