It IS the funniest movie of all time!

Airplane! (known as Flying High! in Australia) is cinema's seminal spoof movie. It was decades ago that the capable, imaginative duo of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ) wrote and directed what became, through my eyes, the funniest movie of all time. Up until 1980 when Airplane! was released, Mel Brooks was acknowledged as the guru of movie spoofs - with films like Blazing Saddles to Young Frankenstein under his belt. Apparently Mel Brooks viewed Airplane! and realised there were new kids on the block playing his game, and they were playing his game even better than he once did!

The three creators of Airplane! introduced audiences to an entirely new kind of comedy altogether. It combines sight gags, memorable dialogue and just plain random humour...creating unbeatable results! The film generated its own unique genre of comedy satire. Subsequently this style was to be copied and expanded upon in many different guises, both by its creators and countless others, but alas never again possessing the same freshness and appeal. The distinguishing feature is the sheer number of laughs incorporated into this film...it's almost sufficient to fill three movies! Breaking down just a minute of the film, you can literally find about 8 gags. They say you cannot analyse humour, but au contraire my friends...lo and behold a laugh count of about 500 an hour! Seriously, if you're not laughing uncontrollably by the film's ending you should check into a mental clinic, or get inspected for possible lockjaw.

Airplane! is ostensibly a spoof of the old, cheesy, terribly made 1950s disaster movies. Basically the almost non-existent plot concerns a perilous situation on-board a passenger plane. When a severe case of food poisoning breaks out, the crew are left incapacitated with several passengers becoming violently ill. Former war pilot Ted Striker (Hays) is the only hope for those aboard the plane. He must overcome the troubles with his former wife (Hagerty) and conquer his lack of enthusiasm to save the day. Along the way you'll find spoofs of everything from Jaws to Saturday Night Live. The plot is wafer thin, with no depth or attempt to make it more than just a comedy. The problem with most comedies these days is that they incorporate a bit of drama into the mix, fishing for a movie that amalgamates laughs and drama. The thing about Airplane! is that the creators want to make a comedy and nothing more...no drama, no seriousness. Just laughs and a never-ending flow of them as well. This is comedy done right, and even without much of a plot this is truly a masterpiece.

It's the gag density and the lack of gaps between the laughs that keeps this film fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable. You will be wanting more when the credit begin to roll...I was certainly thirsty for more and set out to watch more films by the ZAZ threesome. It's not only the thickness of gags, but the actors that elevate this movie. Leslie Nielsen's impeccable dialogue delivery exalts the quality of this film astronomically. Before this film he actually did some serious movies. After this film, his career as a serious performer was destroyed. His deadpan nature can make you laugh just by looking at him. Heck, his introduction with a stethoscope around his neck will add to the already heightened urge to laugh. He steals the show. Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty have great chemistry whenever they feature in a scene together. And their dialogue is faultlessly written.

Airplane! deserves the appraisal and accolades it subsequently received. There are so many laughs included here that you will need to watch the film continually just to notice them all. I've watched the film repeatedly, and I'm still noticing new laughs. This is before sexual innuendo and puerile remarks became the foundation for humour. Maybe that is what's missing from modern comedies. Quite simply, you will never find a comedy that's more original than this! Check it out...immediately!

8.75/10