Today, we’re talking about the 1980 film Airplane, written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker.This irreverent parody tells the tale of Ted Striker, an ex-war pilot paralyzed by PTSD who impulsively boards the flight of airline stewardess Elaine to try to win her love back. But Ted’s inability to let go of his wartime failures elicits constant rejections from Elaine, until a deadly fish dinner takes down all the pilots and makes Ted reluctantly spring into action.

Along the way, we get a series of hilarious antics from a colorful cast of characters, from two Black passengers speaking jive, an eight year old who prefers her coffee like her men, a glue-sniffing air traffic controller, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, June Cleaver, and a pilot who might just be a pedophile. Problematic? Surely, you can’t be serious.

The film stars Robert Hayes, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, and Otto the Inflatable Auto Pilot, and has a runtime of I hour 28 minutes.

CREDITS

Hosts: Kristina "Krissie" Rettig & Erin Maxwell

Edited by: Russ Lichter

Theme Song by: Spooky Dan