THE REWATCHABLES · September 22, 2025
A 1980 comedy / disaster / satire movie directed by Jim Abrahams; David Zucker; Jerry Zucker—and decision no. 74 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The airport curbside pickup gag remains one of the film's most quoted and beloved sequences.
About 40 minThe jive dialogue and June Cleaver reveal are treated as a huge shock-comedy moment.
About 24 minThe disco sequence and the long stunt-woman fight are highlighted as unexpectedly funny.
About 56 minKareem's appearance is discussed as both shocking and hilarious, especially for basketball fans.
About 24 minThe sick-child sequence is praised for its absurd escalation and facial reaction gag.
About 56 minThe blow-up autopilot joke is singled out as a peak comic moment and a shock for younger viewers.
About 56 minThe landing sequence is cited for packing in all the movie's signature catchphrases.
About 48 minStack's long confession to Ted is singled out as a favorite late-film passage.
About 48 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsRed Zone/White Zone, jive guys, and the landing sequence are top candidates.
Bill HaderRobert Stack's end monologue is his current favorite, with the cockpit and inflatable pilot close behind.
Bill SimmonsHe wonders if it is slightly too short and could use a little more material.
Bill HaderHe prefers leaving the audience wanting more and likes that it ends quickly.
Bill HaderYes, she should have been bigger.
Bill SimmonsHe mostly agrees and says she has real appeal in the film.
Bill SimmonsAirplane! may be the definitive spoof movie.
Bill HaderHe agrees it is unique and hard to compare to anything else.
Says he has loved the movie since childhood and still knows every word.
Opening minutesArgues that the movie's genius is casting serious actors who play absurdity straight.
About 8 minSays the final Stack confession is his current favorite scene because it reveals a lonely man trying to connect.
About 48 minBelieves Nielsen's performance in the film is what unlocked his later comedy career.
About 40 minCalls the inflatable autopilot blowjob joke peak 10-year-old comedy.
About 48 minSays she should have been a bigger star and praises her performance and screen presence.
About 1:04Argues the movie is almost too short, which helps it leave the audience wanting more.
About 48 minSays the best comedy comes from creators trusting their instincts and making themselves laugh.
About 32 minFrames the film as one of the great comedies and a cultural watershed.
Opening minutesArgues that older high-status TV actors are often easier comic targets because they can fall farther.
About 16 minThe film works because serious actors deliver ridiculous material without winking at the audience.
About 8 minThe speakers frame the movie as part of an era when original studio comedies were major communal events.
About 24 minThe parody depends on old TV and disaster-movie tropes, from announcers to soap-opera seriousness.
About 16 minThe episode treats Airplane! as a before-and-after movie for comedy structure and casting.
About 16 minThe film was originally titled Flying High and then Kentucky Fried Airplane during development.
About 40 minThe budget was $3.5 million and the film made $171 million.
About 40 minThe film was the fourth biggest movie of 1980.
About 40 minRobert Stack was offered an extra $20,000 instead of a percentage and later regretted it.
About 1:04The jive scene was translated with a thick Bavarian dialect in Germany.
About 1:04The airplane-announcer roles were filled by the real married couple who recorded LAX announcement tapes.
About 1:12Elmer Bernstein scored the movie and understood the goofy assignment immediately.
About 1:12The air traffic controller is played by Jonathan Banks.
About 1:04A shot of the airplane exterior uses a model and the visible low-budget look is discussed as a virtue.
About 1:20The plane title sequence and some jokes were left out because they did not test well, including a loogie gag.
About 1:12Described as the direct structural source that the filmmakers discovered and adapted.
About 32 minMentioned as one of the disaster films Airplane! borrows from.
About 32 minUsed as a shorthand for the 1970s disaster-movie ecosystem that Airplane! spoofs.
About 32 minCited as part of the remarkable 1980 comedy run alongside Airplane!
About 40 minUsed as another summer-1980 comedy benchmark and a contrast in style.
About 40 minReferenced as the closest later descendant of Airplane!'s style and as a theater riot comedy experience.
About 8 minMentioned as an earlier ZAZ project that Hader brought to a sleepover.
About 8 minUsed as a comparison point for spoof comedy, especially before Airplane!'s broader parody scope.
About 16 minCited as an SNL example of deadpan seriousness making comedy funnier.
About 16 minMentioned because the HBO show led Hader to get fit and meet David Zucker at a gym.
About 16 minUsed throughout as a comparison for comedy structure and for Hader's experience directing high-status hosts.
About 16 minReferenced as Robert Stack's serious pre-Airplane identity.
About 8 minCompared to Airplane! as a pop-cultural touchstone that was always present in Hader's life.
Opening minutesAnother example of a permanently present childhood movie reference used by Hader.
Opening minutesMentioned in passing as part of a 1980 summer sequence of notable films.
About 1:04The hosts repeatedly mention using lines like 'Good luck, we're all counting on you' in real conversations.
About 32 minThe title joke is treated as one of the most durable recurring quotes from the film.
About 32 minA food-order line from the movie became a running family joke.
About 32 minThe existential pilot line is cited as a permanent quotation.
About 32 minThese absurd lines are cited as endlessly quotable bits from the finale.
About 32 minHader says he would repeatedly open Alec Berg's door and say 'Good luck' while he was on a deadline.
About 32 min“Good luck. We're all counting on you”About 32 min
“Shirley, don't call me Shirley”About 32 min
“I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue”About 32 min
“I speak jive”About 56 min
“I had the fish”About 32 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Airplane!, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 tiesCATEGORY CONTEXT
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